Curse of Slytherin  Part 3
by Black Sheep
Summary: Harry is having weird dreams. Voldemort tells him a few secrets that he probably wouldn’t have believed under normal circumstances. SSHP
1. Chapter 1

Titel: The Curse of Slytherin – part III – Salazar Slytherin

Author: Shayla

Series: Harry Potter

Pairing: SS/HP

Warning: Slash, Rated: R …

And in this fic I do not take in consideration the events of OoP.

Beta: NOT BETAD!! I don't have anyone to help me out with this so forgive my many mistakes, I'm not a native English-speaker and my friends accuse me of being a Coma-Eater --'

Summary: Harry is having weird dreams. Voldemort tells him a few secrets that he probably wouldn't have believed under normal circumstances. After that encounter Harry is not really up to do anything and wants only to be left alone as soon as possible. Sadly, things are never easy for him considering that he has a curse on him that will bring upon the birth of a long dead wizard…

Disclaimer: I wish Harry Potter were mine, but it isn't…sighs I guess there are other people who feel like this, right?

Note to Part III: I haven't updated this Story in ages, I know… sorry bows remorsefully I lost my notes on it and… well, the only ones I found where from the time where Salazar never got around waking up… which considering how far the story is, has nothing to do with it anymore, consequently that means that I'm working on rewriting chapter 14-20 from my memory alone… Sorry ;; 

Thank you everybody for your reviews so far, I try to work on this as fast as I can, but I do have other projects to finish and life's got me busy as well. I'd wish I had the time to reply to everyone of you, though.

Please continue to enjoy this.

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**The Curse of Slytherin – Part III**

**Salazar Slytherin**

**Chapter 12**

Severus forced Draco and Sirius into a dark corridor at the sound of approaching footsteps. The sound was uncharacteristically, there was no rhythmical echo, but an uneven sound that lead the Potion Master to the conclusion that the now approaching person was injured and not well on his feet.

He heard Draco move near him as the boy heaved the heavier body of Sirius up to get a better hold of him. Black's heavy breathing was starting to worry him, but right now he had to play safe if he wanted to get out of here in one piece.

He listened on to the sound of the steps clearing all other unnecessarily noises out of his head, carefully trying to determine how far the other was from their hideout. The steps stopped for a moment and he had to suppress the urge to look around the corner to see who it was.

Something hissed and then the steps echoed through the dark hallways again coming once more closer. A few meters, maybe less…

Severus let go of Sirius, letting his student carry alone the weight of the other man, and reached slowly for his wand in his sleeve. Draco and him might still be dressed as Death Eaters, but Voldemort's expression earlier had told him that it was better that there were no witnesses during their little escapade, although it didn't make much sense as to why the Dark Lord wanted him to take Black away without anyone noticing. Severus had learned years ago not to question that mad man.

"Draco?" a voice called out, unfamiliar and deep, but definitely a man's.

Severus glanced at his student, narrowing his eyes, but knowing that the other couldn't see it due his mask. The boy had clearly stiffened at the sound of his name.

A snake hissed, this time louder, closer.

"Draco? …" The call came again as the stranger approached.

Severus pressed against the wall, hiding in the shadow of the flickering fire of the torch on the other side of the hallway, ready to attack.

Suddenly Draco moved next to him out of their hideout dragging Sirius with him, before Severus could even react, and called out: "Harry?" Draco's voice trembling strangely, almost as though the boy was unsure of his own actions.

Severus cursed under his breath at the stupidity of his student, but moved quickly with raised wand next to the younger Slytherin in order to protect him. He froze in mid-spell.

Before them stood Harry Potter, but the boy looked nothing like the scared child Severus had left a few hours earlier in his chamber. This boy had shoulder length unruly hair, he was taller, almost as tall as the Potion Master himself, if not the same height, and his green eyes and expression were almost lifeless and cold. It was like standing before a complete stranger.

"Harry?" Draco called out again, but this time in considerably confusion.

The green eyed young man turned his eyes at the blond nodding slowly, while steadying himself with his right hand against the wall, his breathing coming in short and exhausted breaths.

"Harry… what happened? You were supposed to wait outside!" Draco exclaimed worried.

The green eyes closed for a moment before opening again and starring down his arm towards a silver snake bracelet. "Not here… not now…" his emotionless eyes turned back to them. "We have to leave, soon Death Eaters will be coming here." He paused looking strangely over Sirius pale form. "Is he alright?" he asked.

Severus didn't know what disturbed him more, the look on the boy's face, or the fact that he sounded as though he didn't really care. It was a hollow feeling emanating from Potter that made a cold shiver run down his spine.

"We must get him out of here where he can be treated and I can determine the extend of the poisoning of his body." Severus answered lowering his wand slowly.

The green eyes narrowed for a moment as they turned to the Potion Master, then Harry nodded and walked closer to them. "I understand."

Suddenly Severus felt the air of his body leave him as he received a strong punch in his stomach, followed by another quick move that knocked him unconscious.

"Professor!!" Draco exclaimed alarmed as the man tumbled forward and hit the ground hard. Draco turned to look at Harry. "What did you do that for?!" the Slytherin cried out.

"If he leaves with us, your father will realize that he is betraying him and will hunt him down." Harry's bangs fell over his face making his eyes darken in the hair's shadow. "You know what that would mean." His eyes fixed strangely at the man on the ground. "It is better they find him like this, than not at all." He turned his attention to his schoolmate and handed Draco the portkey.

Realizing that the other was right, Draco reached out for the book with Sirius' hand in his own and laid them on the cover not saying another word.

"Password?" Harry asked.

Draco looked down at the titled and spoke. "Inno di morte…" They were sucked into the vortex that would return them to Hogwarts.

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Salazar watched Draco stumble to the ground under Sirius' weight when they arrived near the Quidditch fields of Hogwarts. That boy's looks annoyed him, he was just like Godric, which was rather irritating, but his behavior wasn't anything alike. He would have found it amusing to see someone that looked so much like Gryffindor in his house, if the boy wasn't his descendant, his own blood. It meant that somewhere in the line of his family Godric's blood must have mixed with his own. The mere thought was disgusting as much as disturbing, because that meant that the past events of betrayal and hate had been forgotten and his family had dared to let another Gryffindor close to them.

To make things worse, he found himself in the body of a Gryffindor. He'd like to go strangle someone, but at the moments his thoughts should be focused on repaying his host at least by keeping her godfather alive, it was already bad enough that he had failed in keeping the child in his host alive let alone Harry's soul in one piece.

Whenever he closed his eyes he had the image imprinted of the empty look of the girl's eyes as they looked empty down at her own body while her hands moved in circling motions like a mantra over where the child would have been.

But the only thing that remained now in this flesh was a lifeless body of a child that should have been this woman's firstborn.

He knew very well that the longer he kept that body within himself now, the worse he would start feeling. The child was dead but this body, which belonged to Salazar now, was alive, and it would end up being poisoned by the dead flesh within.

But that had to wait.

Sirius Black's life had priority right now.

So he went over to the two on the ground and reached out for the pale form of Harry's godfather and heaved him up against himself. He watched as Draco took the chance to get on his feet before reaching out for Sirius in order to help him.

"No!" Salazar said. "I'll take him, you go and get help."

"But-" Draco stopped when Salazar narrowed his eyes.

"I said: no." he repeated seriously. "I'll meet you down in the dungeon, we can't afford to have everyone in Hogwarts know that a criminal is in their mists. It's safer if I take him while you get someone to help him."

"And where exactly do you plan to take him?" Draco shook his head irritated. "The entrance to the dungeon is through the Entrance Hall. It might very well be the middle of the night, but that doesn't mean that there won't be anyone patrolling at this hour." Draco countered.

"Stretch you arm out to me." He ordered in a voice that made the other follow his command instantly. Salazar got a hold of his wrist with his right hand. He watched Draco's expression change as he spoke out in Parsel and the snake lifted its body and moved like quicksilver over Salazar's hand down to the blond boy's wrist and slithered over his arm encircling it. "It will lead you back to me. Go now. I'll find my own way in."

Draco blinked at the silver around his wrist before glancing with wide eyes at him, understanding and horror rising in them. He gapped while stepping fearfully away from him.

"Go!" Salazar said low.

And the boy turned on his heels running towards the castle, fleeing from the figure that looked like Harry but that was Salazar Slytherin now.

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Draco tried to force down the overflowing emotions of the shock and realization that his ancestor had awoken. His vision was starting to blur as crystal liquid built in them while he ran towards the castle. He reached up for the white mask on his face and took it off. He hid it in his cloak before passing his left hand over his face to wipe off the wetness.

The cold silver on his arm confirmed the terrible realization that Salazar was real.

He wanted to shout in desperation, but he couldn't; his throat was like a big knot that made it even hard to breath.

He should have realized this the moment he had set eyes on this strange form of Harry. The empty look, the hollow feeling and above all the difference in height and appearance belonging to someone that was not a child.

Maybe Draco _had_ realized but hadn't wanted to believe it back then. Sometimes it was better to pretend to be blind to the truth than face it, but Draco knew very well that he could no longer run.

He had often enough seen Harry's will subside to Salazar's. He had witnessed the emotionless eyes as they starred at him without real recognition or with utter hatred when Salazar had confused him with someone else. But Harry had always been able to keep his ground and returned.

But the way Harry… no Salazar, it was Salazar now in Harry's body.

The way he looked now was different from his cousin.

He felt a tug from the snake as he entered the castle. It was like it wanted to lead the way. Confused by the emotions in him and the worry for Harry, Draco allowed it to lead him.

What if Harry wouldn't return this time?

What if this time it was forever?

Was there no other way?!

He sniffed and took a deep breath following without hesitation the snake's way until it stopped before the entrance, which lead to the headmaster's office. For a moment Draco wasn't sure how to proceed since he didn't know the password, but again the snake forced him to move. It raised his arm closer to the statue forming into liquid again expanding from his arm and coming in contact with the stone.

First there was no reaction but Draco could clearly feel the magic rising from the thing until the statue rose and formed stairs. The snake retreated back onto him and dragged him on until he reached the office door.

Wanting to come up with a somewhat plausible explanation as to why he was there, he decided to wait a moment, but the snake pulled his arm up and forced him to knock. Draco let out a protest cry, but the snake made him reach for the knob and turn it pushing the door open.

It was humiliating to have no will over his own body.

The realization that this was how Harry must have felt all this time hit him suddenly and he could only stare at those before him unable to react, let alone to explain his being there.

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Salazar could feel the changes within his body. The cellular structure had an accelerated growth and his organs where rearranging in a very painful manner. The earlier sudden physical growth could not compare to the pain that he was going trough at the moment.

He could barely keep the body of Black against him. He stumbled against the wall of the dungeon thankful that at least he had something to lean to. Of course he could try to cast pain-killing spells on himself, but he didn't know whether Black's condition would react to the magic about him. Using a portkey to get to Hogwarts had been risky enough.

He felt with his free hand along the wall for a hidden switch. In the almost dark corridor he could barely make out the lines of the stones. The smell emanating from Black was worsening and he had the urgent need to throw up.

For the fifth time, since Draco had left them, he wondered what they had done to this man to have him in such a death-near state. The body smelled as tough his flesh had been rotting for weeks beneath the earth, his breathing was heavy like someone's submerged deep in the water, but what worried Salazar most was the fact that the skin seemed to darken by just being touched. At first he had assumed that Black had been abused so much that it had left marks, but after seeing that a simple and light touch could cause a very painful looking bruise on the skin, he realized that he was assuming too much.

Finally coming across a stone with a somewhat stronger magical essence, he spoke out in Parsel and the stone, along with the wall moved quietly down to the ground giving view to a long stairway leading farther beneath the castle. Leaning Black carefully against the wall he called out in Parsel. He waited for an answer, but none came. Narrowing his eyes he called out again, this time louder, but no reply was heard. Worried he moved to Black and pulled him up again, almost falling himself down due to his own pain.

Salazar continued their way down calling still out in Parsel while the door closed again behind them.

He cursed under his breath as he felt the aching in his feet worsen. "Where is that stupid snake when I need it?!" he wondered before calling out loudly for help again, but only to be answered by the echo of his own voice and the following silence.

Annoyed he continued his way until he reached the sewer beneath the castle. It hadn't changed much over the centuries, but even if it had it wouldn't have matter because what he was looking for would be at the end of the tunnel, no matter how much Hogwarts' structure would rearrange for it's own amusement, it would always be there waiting for its master to return.

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Albus looked startled at Draco Malfoy standing in the doorway of his office. The boy's eyes were slightly reddened and he just starred blankly looking completely out of place.

Remus and Madam Pomfrey were apparently so surprised that they did not move when Draco finally seemed to recover from his shocked state.

"Mr. Malf-" Albus started, wondering at the same time how the boy had managed to get into his office, but was interrupted by the blond.

"Headmaster!!" he called out rushing forward and reaching out for the man's hand before pulling him after him towards the room's exit. "You have to come quickly!!"

Albus stopped forcing Draco to come to a halt. Pale eyes starred at him in confusion, worry and fear.

"Calm down, boy." He said trying to free his hand from the boy's grip, but Draco only tightened his hold, almost desperately. His expression resembled Remus' when he had first entered his room. For a moment the thought of increasing the security of his office passed through his mind.

"But we have to hurry!!" the boy's voice stopped his thought. "_He_ might die!!!" Draco's voice turned high, emphasizing the stress he seemed to be in. "You must hurry!!"

Albus lay his free hand on Draco's shoulder forcing the boy to face him. He looked sternly over the border of his glasses at him. "Tell me what has happened, Draco."

The boy reacted to his name. "I…I don't know!" He let go of the headmaster passing his hand over his face giving view to a strange looking silver bracelet. "He made me tell him how to get there! And I didn't realize soon enough and then I left him behind!!" he spoke hastily, forcing his eyes close to contain the tears from flowing. Memories seemed to flash through his mind rapidly. "I found them and then he found us but he was changed!" his eyes flung open and he reached out for Albus' robe holding with tight fist at it. "It's not him anymore!! I know it!! I failed!!!" he sank down to his knees letting go of the clothing sobbing loudly now. "I promised myself I would protect him and I failed him!!!" tears dropped to the ground. "I failed the only person I ever cared about!" he cried out loudly before his voiced failed him and all they could hear was his soft whisper. "I failed…failed…"

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Someone slapped him rather rudely wake. For a second he felt completely disorientated, which alarmed him and he tried to sit up abruptly while reaching instinctively for his wand. But somewhere in between the lying and vertical position he collided with something.

He heard an annoyed curse immediately recognizing the voice of Lucius Malfoy. "Damn it, Snape!"

Severus touched his forehead where he had hurt himself just now. "What happened?" he asked looking around and finding himself on the dirty ground of a dungeon.

Lucius snorted while rubbing as well his forehead, his mask was dangling on a silver chain around his waist contrasting strongly with his black robes. "Well, I was expecting _you_ to tell me!!"

Narrowing his eyes, Severus remembered speaking to the Younger Malfoy and having carried Black as well as meeting Potter. That damned brat had dared to knock him completely out with just one blow. Severus lay a hand on his stomach. The hit had not been without magic, and since Severus had not really expected anything like that from the boy, he had not even been able to react to the sudden attack. Taken completely defenseless he had been knocked unconscious.

"One of us attacked me…" he said looking straight into Lucius eyes. "I thought he was here to help me move Black to another cell. When I heaved the body up he came around and knocked me out." Well, it wasn't a complete lie, a bid of bended truth to serve a Malfoy. Still, there was the nagging sensation that he had missed something while being in the younger Malfoy's and Potter's presence. Something important had been going on; alone the wondrous look in Draco's eyes had been prove of it. And should that not be enough, than Potter's odd behavior had shown nothing of what Severus was used to.

The fact that there was a patter in Potter's behavior and that Severus had bothered to know about it was something that annoyed him even more. But the boy had not seemed himself. Something had happened to him, something that Severus had to find out… again.

Truly, it was quite bothersome that, since Potter had come to Hogwarts, Severus life had turned into a circling motion about the boy. Whatever he did, whatever he said was done in order to protect the boy.

The boy…

Potter was still a boy…

Then why had Severus felt so strange in their last encounter…

Lucius brought him back out of his thought. "And you don't know who it was?"

He shook his head, and started to get up from the ground. Having to look up at the other man was as unnerving as thinking all the time about that child.

Severus saw Lucius furious face as the man turned around and ordered the Death Eaters to search for the other dead corpses and to research the magical traces of spells in order to find out who had either betrayed them or had managed to get into their territory.

Fleetingly everyone moved at his order. Malfoy turned back with his pale eyes to him, narrowing them in suspicion. "Did you see Draco?"

Surprised at this, Severus was glad to have trained himself from showing such emotions on his face. "Draco?" he asked while rearranging his robes and leaning down to pick up his mask from the ground. "Shouldn't he be at school?"

"That's what I'm asking you." Lucius moved closer invading Severus personal space. "I was told that he came looking for me… You wouldn't happen to know about this, would you?"

Severus didn't flinch; doing so would only betray the words he was about to say. "I don't see why I should know where your brat is. During the week he should remain at school in order not to arouse suspicion with Dumbledore. "

Lucius didn't move away, nor did he show any sign on his face for Severus to interpret. "Speaking of Dumbledore… Maybe you should go back to school and inform me about my son's whereabouts and see if the old man has anything to do with this."

"Are you suggesting I leave and don't help search for the idiot who knocked me out?" Severus gave him an angry tone and let the other watch him seethe in anger before speaking up again in a more controlled fashion. "I'd rather have my hands on that bastard, but Dumbledore isn't stupid, you're right, I should head back. He probably already knows about Black and Lupin." He lifted his mask over his face. "Wouldn't want to disappoint his trust in me."

Lucius viewed him curiously and for a very disturbing and unknown reason, Severus had the feeling that Lucius was suddenly far more dangerous than he had considered him to be in the last years.

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Many of the tunnels in the sewer had crashed down making it impossible for Salazar to continue on to his chamber. What had happened here?

Question after question formed in his mind, but as soon as they arose he realized that he had no answer to them. Time had obviously affected Hogwarts more than he had ever expected. Of course he had imagined that something like this might happened, but when he had performed the spell of his return all those centuries ago, he had not counted on being reborn a thousand years later.

Too much time had passed indeed.

He looked at the rocks blocking his way. Considering that he was not completely stabilized in the body of Harry Potter, there was a risk that performing magic to repair the damages could cost him the just gained chance of a new life. And there was also Black to consider. The man had started to show signs of fever, his body trembling from cold, but his skin was burning in sickness.

Salazar laid Sirius against the tunnel wall and cleaned his face from his own sweat with his sleeve. He was not feeling well either. The changes on the body had been too abrupt and too early, normally he would have had to wait at least another month.

Closing his eyes and massaging with his fingers his forehead, he tried to think of another way into the chamber. Of course there were others entrances than the main one, but they had not been designed for humans. Only the Basilisk could use them since they were filled with poisonous plants and various other traps that he could under no circumstance avoid with Black on the drag.

He opened his eyes thoughtfully. There was also a chance that the castle itself might reopen the way for him if he asked for its help. His host was a descendant of Gryffindor as he was of Salazar. By using his own magical presence and that of Harry, he might be able to trick the castle to open a path for him.

He looked up at the ceiling, the castle had been given an own source for magic for cases like this. War had always been in the Salazar's mind, therefore he had convince Rowena to aid him in creating a source of magic for the castle and the grounds in case that defenses and repairs had to be raised in times of trouble. Convincing later the other founders, they had established a concentrated amount magic into the walls of Hogwarts giving it life and almost a will of its own. Almost of course, a real will was not something Salazar was willing to create. That went too deep into messing with the creation of a real sentient being. There were boundaries that not even he would cross.

He heard Black cough and he turned to the pale form on the ground. He needed to treat the man quickly. But the things he needed were in his chamber. Cursing under his breath and walked over to the dead end and laid his hands flat on the stone.

"Only blood can write its own tragedy…" he resisted the words Rowena had last spoken to him. "Maybe you were right…"

And once again the castle awoke from its slumber sensing a more powerful call than months before.

Through a foggy vision Sirius saw in hallucination the figure of a powerful man standing with raised arms to the front. Magic was being willed around him to gather to do his bidding. Sirius could feel it in his bones for it was tabbing him painfully until he could no longer stand it. The last thing he saw were green eyes as the man turned to look back at him.

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Draco had calmed down. From what Remus could tell, he was considerably calmer than when he had rushed in. But his instincts told him that the boy was still scared of something or someone. He could smell the fearful scent rising from his skin intoxicating the air about him. At first Remus hadn't been able to tell whether there was something else disturbing his lycantrophy senses or if his own discomfort and nervousness from the escape was blinding him, but after watching Poppy help calm down the boy somewhat, he had recognized the other scents that were below the fear.

Harry…

He was sure he had smelled Harry, but it was different from what Remus remembered it. And there was also Severus and to add to Remus own insecurity, Sirius'.

After getting up and moving closer to the young Slytherin, he started to make out more smells. Vomit, rotten flesh and blood… there were more, but the amount was confusing him and he found himself forced to keep a certain distance from the boy in order to be able to think clearly. Still the smell that made Remus' blood rush through him in fear more than all the others was the intense and almost unbearable scent of death. It wasn't just one… he could tell clearly, which made it only worse for him to bear.

Poppy passed a hand over the boy's hand soothingly, it was an almost motherly gesture and it appeared to disturb Draco because he flinched away from her touch. Sighing she lowered her hand and touched his shoulder holding him in place before speaking in a strong but calm voice. "What happened?"

Draco looked at each of them, his eyes moving fleetingly from one to the next. Remus had the feeling to be watching a trapped animal.

"Har…" he shook his head. "Potter… " the way Draco said the name seemed almost foreign to Remus, as though the boy wasn't used to call him that. But before Remus could dwell on it the boy continued. "He made me take him to where the Death Eaters would be holding his godfather…" the pale eyes evaded Remus' look.

"His Godfather?" Poppy asked him as she released him from her hold. For a moment Remus saw something reflect the light of the candles in her hand before it vanished in her sleeve. Apparently she had given young Malfoy something to calm him without him knowing so. No wonder she had touched his head before. There were scentless lotions that massaged to the head would take fear from one, leaving the receiver with a comforting and soothing sensation.

"Yes." Draco nodded closing his eyes; apparently the lotion was starting to do its work. "Sirius Black…" Draco's head moved to the side as tough he was about to fall asleep any moment. "But he wasn't held in the cells… We didn't find him…"

"How did you know that his godfather was held by them in the first place." Minerva asked curiously.

Draco opened his eyes and looked at her but his vision seemed to blur because he opened them wide and closed them a few times trying to focus on the professor. "We heard it as the headmaster contacted Professor Snape." He reached to his head swaying lightly from side to side trying to resist the lotion's power.

Albus turned with raised eyebrows to Remus and he felt a surge of guilt rise in him.

"Harry…" again he shook his head. "No, Potter…" he corrected himself. "He insisted on going after Snape… but…" he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "I told him to wait in safety and to use the portkey to get back if any danger approached and I left him alone…" The boy seemed almost to choke on the last words and his expression became that of someone in complete distress. "Oh, god! I left him alone…" he repeated and Remus had the feeling that Malfoy was falling into a recollection of his own memories.

Albus looked doubtfully at Madam Pomfrey, but she was trying to help Draco focus on his surroundings, whispering calming words to him while tears rolled down his face and guilt started to replace the distress.

She turned to them slowly. "I might have applied more than necessary, …" she stated as they watched Draco's head swing slightly form side to side. "The lotion is calming him but it also will have him ask for sleep. And in such a state he might not know clearly what he's talking about."

Draco reached with his hand to his face and the strange bracelet came back to view. The snake seemed alive in Remus eyes. It appeared to be watching them. It was suddenly more unnerving than not knowing what was happening to Sirius.

And then without further warnign the snake opened its mouth and its teeth sank deep into the boy's skin. Draco let out a startled cry and he covered his wrist with his other hand.

Poppy reached out to help but the boy slapped her hand away. "Don't!" he said in a hard voice. "I need to tell you… Need to be able to focus… need to help _him_…"

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The passage was cleared before Salazar now. It had not been necessary to adjust much magic to wield the structure back to its original form. It was unlikely that anyone but him had noticed the slight tremors created by his effort. He heaved the moaning figure of Black up and he dragged the man and himself forward towards his goal.

Something was not right; he could feel that something was wrong.

No… that wasn't it…

it was more like what he _couldn't_ feel that had him worried. The whole tunnel seemed _too _deserted, _too_ quite. Something was off, but his pain-clouded mind had already difficulties focusing on the task at hand and he was not really in any shape to wonder about other things for long.

Black whimpered against him as the stumbled over his Basilisk's peeled off skin. The man had regained consciousness for a moment whispering to him incomprehensible words and Salazar was to his own confusion relieved to find out that there was still some live in the sick man.

He stopped at the entrance of the Chamber and called out to the snakes to open the way. He closed his eyes breathing heavily trying to calm his beating heart and find some comfort in the presence of his own domain, although at present he would rather give into unconsciousness. He was feeling worse with every passing minute.

Getting a hold of Black he heaved the man up to entrance and pushed him into the chamber making sure not to harm the man more than necessary. Then he worked his own way up to the entrance stopping again to catch his breath and push back the sudden blackness that was overcoming him. Opening slowly his eyes all he could see at first was a blurred vision. But as the moment passed he was greeted with the sight of something he had not expected. There at the end was the corpse of his Basilisk. He starred at it in confusion, and he felt Harry stir within him in echo to the sudden emotional sadness that was filling him.

Questions over questions popped up in his mind, but he knew well that at the moment he wouldn't find any answers to them. So he reached down and pulled Black up by his arm and heaved him against him before continuing on.

He didn't dare look at his dead friend's corpse. His eyes focused on the ground, he forced himself to remain in control. He made his way to the end, to the huge image of a man that supposedly was an image of him, but was more the spiteful image of the man he hated almost as much as he did Gryffindor. His father.

He moved in front of the mouth and spoke up in Parsel. The stone stirred moving back completely into the wall, merging and giving sight to an entrance covered with runes.

His lips formed into something that he thought he had forgotten how to do. A soft smile graced his features at the familiar sight and at feeling of returning home.

Moving forward he touched the door and the runes awoke to his presence opening the door to the secret chambers that lay beyond.

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Whatever Pomfrey had given him to rest was being sucked out of him by the bracelet. His mind started to clear while at the same time something was enveloping him in a feeling of protection. The bracelet would protect him, he realized gazing in wonder at the silver around his wrist.

He closed his eyes and thanked silently the small thing for its company. It was different from before. Earlier the contact had been cold and almost threatening to him, but now, whether it was due to their connection or not, he was no longer afraid. There was warmth…

And so with new courage he looked up at the people gazing down to him while he sat on the ground. And with a steady voice he said: "We brought Sirius Black back with us, but he needs medical attention according to Professor Snape. He appeared to be dying when I separated from… Harry…" He wouldn't tell them about Salazar just yet. It wasn't his place and it certainly wasn't his wish that his ancestor resided permanently in his cousin's body. "I came at his request to lead you back to them."

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The Forbidden Forest was the least of all places Severus wanted to be tonight. He was feeling angry and confused with the current situation. Thinking clearly he realized that Potter's action had been remarkably smart. It would have been complicated to come up with a convincing explanation had he succeed in getting Black out on his own. And as much as he hate to admit it, freaking Potter might have saved his life for what it's worth. He shuddered angrily. He hated to be indebt to _another_ Potter!

But there had been something wrong with the boy, he thought now that he had time making his way through the forest towards the castle. For the last month there had been something… something very strange connecting him to Harry Potter. He wasn't sure what it was and to be true nothing of what he had tried had been able to break that stupid feeling of wanting to know where the kid was, what he was doing, why he wasn't near Severus and above all the stupid need to keep Harry close to him.

But when Potter had stood there leaning against the wall, the connection had been… as though it had never been there in the first place. And to be true, Severus would probably believe it to be so weren't it for the dull and empty feeling that was barely there for him to register in his heart.

Earlier he had had the feeling that something horrible had happened to the boy, he didn't know exactly what. He had felt like being cut by a knife in the guts, yet now… he was hollow.

He sighed annoyed and frustrated. What was wrong with him worrying more than necessary over that child? Why couldn't he simply accept him like any other of those annoying brats that lingered in his life?

He looked up to see that he was reaching the end of the forest; he could make out the lineout of the castle through the thicket of the trees.

Severus wondered whether Black was still alive.

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Remus looked at Draco Malfoy. No, he starred at him, the words he had just spoken still echoing in his mind.

_We brought Sirius Black back with us… _Remus had not quite listened to what had followed until he registered the words 'dying' and 'Harry'.

"Sirius?" his voice sounded suddenly very dry to his own ears. "Dying?" Was that even him asking? It seemed very unreal as though there was someone else speaking though him, because he couldn't possibly be speaking after hearing that Sirius was dying.

Draco looked at him with pale but understanding eyes. Remus wasn't sure how Malfoy could look at him that way, how he could even speak of Sirius and Harry considering that he was… a _Malfoy_, for crying out loud!

How? When? Why?

Questions seemed to overrun his mind as confusion and worry drowned him further into the realm of fear.

"He looked pretty bad, but I'm not a medic to know how bad they got him. Snape…" he paused and looked at the headmaster. "Professor Snape didn't seem very confident on Black's health situation."

How could this boy be this calm now? Just moments before he had been struggling with worry himself. But before Remus could indulge farther into his dilemma Draco Malfoy continued to speak: "I came looking for help…" he stood up and looked the headmaster now in the eyes. "Will you come and look at him?"

"Where is he?" Madam Pomfrey asked. "I'll go immediately after I can be sure that you will rest and are indeed well."

The blond boy shook his head negatively. "No, you can't go where he is without me." He pushed his hair behind his ear and again Remus saw the snake bracelet for a moment. Draco turned around and headed back to the door. "Follow me…"

He wasn't sure how the other's reacted but he immediately jumped to his feet and hurried after the boy, pushing the thought that this might be a trap to the back of his mind. Remus only realized that the others were following them by the sound of their footsteps echoing in hurry behind him.

Remus' gaze was locked on the blond who held the arm with the bracelet slightly away from his body. It was as though some invisible force was leading him on. They went through the hallways further down in direction of the dungeon until Remus was sure that they were moving in parts of Hogwarts that he had never ventured into before, not even when he was young and they had used the Marauder's Map to explore the school.

Suddenly the boy stopped. He looked confused for a moment and looked down the dark corridor of the dungeon splitting into two paths.

"Wha-" Remus wanted to ask but the boy raised his hand in sign to remain quite, and so he listened.

Closing his eyes and trying to calm his nervousness and worry, he tried to listen to what could have led the boy to halt. And then faintly he heard it; steps approaching from the corridor on the right. Quick steps that he knew, that he could associate to a name.

He glanced back to see Minerva and Albus standing right behind him followed closely by Poppy.

"Severus…" he simply said.

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A/N:

So how's the story so far? What do you think?

Please let me know


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Yeah! Another chapter!! God, I'm so lazy, I should have made it a bit longer last chapter was at least nine pages long, and this one just made eight… well, I hope you at least enjoy it…

* * *

**Chapter 13 **

Severus already knew that there were people ahead waiting for him, but that didn't stop his quick pace. He had to go see how Black was fairing and if the idiot was still alive.

He could already see the five people looking in his direction and was somewhat surprised to see Young Malfoy standing there among the adults, but Severus didn't allow it to show on his face. He knew the moment the boy recognized him, because with a swift nod of acknowledgement and he turned to continue his way down the path to Severus' right.

The others seemingly startled by the boy's action did not know what to do next until Lupin ran after the boy and Severus instinct told him that he better do the same thing.

And so catching up to the others he was not surprised when he was told that they were on their way to look for Black.

Their group came to a halt at a wall and Draco raised his arm. Silver liquid ran over his hand fusing with the stone of the castle until with a rattle followed by an unexpected quiet motion the wall parted and gave view to a large stair way.

He looked at the headmaster to see if the old man had known about this path, but by the expression on the older man's face he realized that this way just as new to him as to Severus. A strange smell stared to fill his nose and he realized that they must be near the sewer of the castle, which moments later was confirmed when they came to another stop in a large cave. He turned a little disorientated around and saw that to their left there was a large circular door with snake's on it's surface. Draco moved closer to it and when he did the snakes on the door gained live. Slithering over the surface he heard the loud sound of locks unlocking. And slowly the door moved open. Draco heaved himself to the entrance and turned to them with a somewhat sheepish smile.

"Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets."

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Flames awoke to life as he entered the hallway and the door to the true Chamber of Secret closed behind them. Sirius's body shivered against Salazar's. But he waited and listened to the other flames ahead lightening their path before proceeding on to his sanctuary.

At the end of the hallway a large circular room greeted them. The whole room appeared to be a small version of the universe. Planets, Stars, Galaxies decorated every part of it- Their lights shining softly and in harmony giving him a calm feeling. But Salazar hadn't come for this. He had seen it often enough, had stood here enough times wondering about his life and his choices to care right now about what surrounded him. Speaking up again in Parcel the room shifted to his command and the sight of the universe was absorbed by the walls. Now he was in a much smaller looking room with three doors on the far end and his working laboratory farther down the few stairs to his right. The fireplace was already blazing familiarly burning the dust of the air that surrounded them.

Once more securing his hold on Sirius he moved towards the doors and opened the one in the middle. Before him was now a small room, that reminded him of the cottage his father used to have for the hunting season long ago. He moved Sirius to a bench and lay him there.

Taking a few deep breaths, he tried to suppress the pain of his own body and the need to give in to unconsciousness.

After feeling the dizziness retreat somewhat he turned and moved to the torch that had already been lightening the room and removed it from the wall. With it he went to the somewhat smaller fireplace. Going down on his protesting knees he lay it between the dusted wood laying there. The dust immediately caught fire and a gray cloud rose from it.

Closing his eyes he pushed himself with some effort up again and went back to Black. Salazar realized that he didn't have any blankets to cover the man with. Frowning he wondered if that would even be a good idea. He might do more harm than good considering the man's current state.

He looked down at the figure of Sirius with a frown on his face.

Salazar wondered for an instant if he also looked that awful, because he certainly felt like simply dropping dead right alongside this man. Not that it would do either of them any good. Wiping the sweat from his forehead he stumbled towards the door in order to start preparing to help Harry's godfather. He cursed under his breath at the nausea returned and he felt his insides clenching preparing his stomach to vomit.

He closed not moving from his current spot and sighed mentally. He couldn't believe that he was going to be aiding a Gryffindor once again. That particular thought made him feel worse than his new body's rebellion.

Coughing and sneezing at the dust that had gathered in these rooms Salazar wished that he had the strength to perform cleaning spells, but as he was right now, standing on two feet was already asking more of him than he'd expected. He closed his eyes when the dust blurred his vision and his eyes watered. Trying desperately to calm his mind in order to think about the ingredients and possible alchemy that might help Black, Salazar moved to the shelves protected by ancient magic from the decay of time. It was due to courtesy of Rowena when she had still been well and alive.

He thanked her mentally.

Lifting his hands, he touched the barriers and murmured words while opening and reaching for the ingredients to clean the poisoned body of Sirius. He turned and carried the vials he could to his working table.

The thought occurred to him that he should consider Black's Animagus status. He growled frustrated and took two of the three vials back to the shelves and scanned his depository for something that he could use to substitute the reactions needed while boiling and that would still be harmless to someone that could shape himself into a familiar.

After finally finding what he needed he returned to the table and opened the drawer taking out knifes and small bowls and other things needed for preparing the ingredients.

He paused looking over to the cauldron. He should probably start already heating it up… but first he would have to clean it… Clean the table too… He narrowed his eyes annoyed at himself for not having thought about this earlier. He sighed in annoyance.

Well, it was better that he realized this now, than while mixing everything together and having all the dust destroy his hard work. He glanced over to the room where he had left Black. Would magic affect him if he used some more now? He had little choice considering his own trembling state…

Earlier when Salazar had used magic to clear the way it hadn't appeared to have caused much more damage than whatever they had given him had already done. Not giving it a second thought he murmured words under his breath and at a flick of his wrist the magic did as he commanded and he found himself moments later in a dust free room.

He sighed. He should have done this earlier.

Suddenly his knees gave away under him and he stumbled to the ground breathing heavily. Pain surged through him as his body continued to adjust to the changes. For a while he could not move, he dared not to move, his mind reminding him that he would pay dearly later if he kept pushing himself like this. That the body was not yet ready for him to do as he pleased, but at the same time the quiet voice of something he distinguished as his conscience told him in an even more annoyed voice that a debt had to be repaid. And so sweating and breathing heavily he pushed himself to his feet and dragged himself over to Black.

He'd need blood to create an antidote.

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It was useless to fear the Curse of Slytherin now, his ancestor had already a host body, Draco mused trying to clam his heartbeat as he heaved himself up the entrance to the chamber that Harry and Tom Riddle had described to him in the past. He turned around to the group behind him. Some showed curiosity as well as confusion and disorientation.

"Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets." He said to them unable to hold back a sheepish smile. "Follow me, I don't believe we have too far to go from here." He told them before jumping down on the other side on the damp ground.

A shiver ran over his body, the others called question after him, but he couldn't answer, he was caught in the sight before him. This room horrified him, his body could feel the old magic dwelling in here, magic that touched him but retreated. It was no longer necessary to influence the blond, the magic knew it, because its true master had already passed through here. Still it did not stop Draco from feeling threatened, didn't stop his fears to surge nor did it stop his body from reacting to the almost physical attack of the magic to his mind.

He heard the others gather around him, hushing in voices, expecting something dreadful to happen. Draco shuddered, because he knew too well how they felt, although he was sure that for him it was worse due to the blood in him. He was an heir, a pureblood one; he prayed that the magic and the chamber would really not affect him any more than this.

The snake on his arm hissed and moved him one before he had even the chance to turn back to answer some of the question directed at him.

"This place its…wrong…" Lupin said following him closely and stepping much closer to Draco than was necessary.

Draco looked at the man who nervously turned his head to look forth and back and to the sides. Apparently he was wrong assuming he was the only one feeling awful down here. Was it because the man was a werewolf? Or because he was a Gryffindor?

Draco turned slightly to look back at the others. Dumbledore appeared calm, the women were holding on the old man's sleeve looking just as uncomfortable as Lupin next to him. Only the Potion Master didn't seem the slightest bit disturbed by the magic and the room itself.

Draco turned his attention back to the statue only a few feet's away from them now. The corpse of the basilisk Harry had killed lay on the side slowly rotting away. But there was no smell, only magic and the rats at work.

He looked disgusted back at the statue. Its size was just as annoying as the rest of the room. The man's stare was making him feel scared. A loud hissing sound from the snake on his arm startled their small group and Draco saw Lupin stiffened next to him while starring down at him, but the blond ignored the inquiring look.

The stone of the statue had moved at the snake's command giving view to a door. Draco felt the snake's pull at him again forcing him towards the door covered in runes. Slowly he reached out and when he touched the knob the ground around them flared alive with runes scanning them. They all yelped and jump a few steps back in surprise, but as quickly as it had happened the runes moved towards the door disappearing once more. With a quiet rumble the door moved back giving view to a hallway lighted with torches.

"Where does this lead to?" the headmaster behind him asked.

Draco shook his head. "I don't know. This is as far as I have ever been told about…" he answered truthfully, neither Tom or Harry had ever mentioned anything like this. What was going on? Where was the snake leading them?

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Salazar pressed a piece of clothing on Black's hand where he had cut him. It wasn't deep, but it wouldn't stop bleeding. He had the blood he needed in a vial now, but the blood was not thickening to close off the wound again. He continued pressing the clothing on the wound while moving the hand so the Black's own body would continue doing the job for Salazar. Once securing the hand under the man's hip, Salazar heaved himself up and stumbled back to his working place careful not to let the vial with Black's blood fall.

He didn't need to be a master in alchemy to know that whatever they had given Harry's godfather had affected Sirius' bloodstream awfully. The smell coming from the blood was causing his stomach to revolt fiercely, not to mention the dark purple color of the sample in his hand could be considered anything but normal for a human.

Salazar put the vial down on his working table and connected it carefully to a glass tube, which lead to more vials filled with various liquids. He took a piece of carbon laying on the far side of the table in his hand and wrote runes underneath the vial with Sirius's blood. Then moving his hand in a circular motion the circle and the runes connected themselves to the vial and the rest of the old runes already written on the table. A soft shimmer went over the table as the vials started to boil and gasses and liquids moved along the complexity of tunnels connecting them and finally leading to the only exit over the cauldron near the fireplace.

Salazar sighed, this would take a while, and it was time to take care of another problem now. His problem to be exact.

He breathed deep a few times before finding the strength to push himself away from the table towards the shelves. He needed…

Salazar's mind clouded. He needed something, something… he knew he knew the name, but right now it was too hard to concentrate on anything more than his moving limbs.

Opening the glass door of an upper shelve he reached with a trembling hand for a dark vial. The writing was not his; it was Rowena's. He remembered when she had put it here; remember when they both had sadly joked about people who would need this.

Never would he have guessed that he would be the one who would use it first after how things had gone last time. But then again, he would never had thought back then, that he would hate Godric either.

He opened the top and smelled at it carefully. His nostril reacted annoyed at the continued abuse to expose it to smells that were not to its liking. Closing the top again he moved over to his other working table and took a knife in his hand before moving over to the large fireplace. He knelt on the small stool. His body protested with a painful convulsion throwing him to the ground almost smashing the vial into pieces. But to his luck it rolled with a clinking sound a few inches away from him. Salazar tried to reach out to the vial, but found himself unable to move from where he lay. His body protested, his mind screamed, damn, even his soul was starting to annoy him.

He coughed a few times shivering from the cold ground and his own sweating body. He had to wait, he couldn't do this alone, but at the same time he realized that he couldn't let more time pass.

Tears sprung into his eyes at his own inability. This was not how he had wanted it to happen. This was not how it was supposed to work.

Even closing his eyes was painful. But he did it anyway, because he had sworn long ago that he would not give in to tears. He would never allow anyone else to see him weak.

And so gathering what little strength he had left he reached out for the vial once more. Trembling and sweaty fingers closed around the cold glass. He would have to do it here on the ground. Not the ideal position, but it would be better than to continue like this. With his other hand that still held the knife he started to lift the hem of Harry's shirt and unbutton the pants. God this was going to be even worse than the pain he already had. Rowena had said so. It could end up killing him, but he trusted the blond boy to be back before such a thing happened. Besides, should it come down to him almost dying there was always plan B. Oh, his mother had been right, never do something without having a plan B or C if it could be helped.

With his thumb Salazar popped the top open once more, this would have to be done quickly or he might join Sirius Black in the afterlife. And he was so not keen of doing that after coming back this shortly.

He moved the vial to his lips and took a deep gulp. His body wanted to spill it out again but he forced with his other hand his mouth close and drank. The liquid burned down his throat colliding with his stomach fluids and moving quickly along his body. He wanted to scream and maybe he did, but he knew that this was not sufficient. And so he forced his hand to moved over the area where the dead body lay within and spilled the rest of the vials contest over it.

This time he did scream, loudly not holding back the pain. God, was this what Rowena had gone through? He could feel his skin parting, his muscle ripping. He was violating this body beyond that which he had ever thought he would. For some, to him inexplicable, reason he was grateful that his host was no longer present. He reached for the stool and sat slightly up leaning heavily on it and glad that it was not falling over. God he definitely had to thank Rowena for all her little masterpieces she had left for him.

He looked with half closed eyes down his body. Blood was already purring out of him in tremendous amounts, the pain was unbearable and he really wanted to pass out. But instead he reached with a hand into his opened stomach area. The magic leading him directly to the dead body and past his organs and with a swift and strong movement he pulled it out of him. He let out a strangled cry before proceeding to cut with a trembling hand the cord that connected them.

And then everything became too much; the pain, his body, the blood loss, his screams… Only blackness remained.

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Draco came to a halt in a circular room. Three doors were at one side, one of them half open. He turned to look around. There was a lab a little farther below, he could hear and see the boiling liquids, the working table and shelves and the fireplace and-

"Harry!!" Draco cried out running towards the body on the ground. Stumbling awkwardly down the stairs he made his way quickly over to his cousin and fell to his knees right next to the blood covered young man.

The others rushed to them, he heard the horrified gasps and questions from the others, but he couldn't react to them, he could only see all the blood, and the pale face before him. He reached out with trembling hands towards the opened stomach-wound from where blood was still coming out.

And suddenly he saw it.

The small body… the fetal position of the tiny body of a child lying dead on the ground next to his knees…

By Merlin, was this what Voldemort had been hinting at him? Was this Harry's secret?

"Harry?!" he called out again now reaching for the body of the dead child.

He cradled the dead body onto his lap and covered it partly with his cloak just before he was pushed back and up to stand on his feet. He struggled to free himself from the hold on him, but Lupin held him at place. He barely registered Madam Pomfrey moving over Harry flicking her wand over him. His Head of House and McGonagall crouched down next to her to aid.

Snape reached for the vial lying next to Harry and sniffed at it.

"What's going on?!" Remus said horrified by the scene, his fingers gripping deep into Draco's arm. "What happened to him? What is that?!"

But he got no answers to his questions.

"Severus?!" Remus called out desperately. "Severus?!!!"

The Potion Master turned to them, his unusually face pale. "I can't say… I… I don't know what it is…"

Draco looked incredulous at his teacher. "How can you not know what that is?! You're a Master of -"

"Don't you think I know that?!" Severus snapped back in irritation before Draco could finish. "Poppy how bad is he?"

"He has lost much blood." Answered the medi-witch. "Too much, and if you can't tell me what he took I can't know if anything I give him could worsen his state."

Draco watched their heated discussion for a moment while holding the small bundle against his chest. He could feel his own hands trembling from the shock. He couldn't help but stare at his cousin's almost lifeless face.

Earlier that day, he had been so livid, his hair shorter and the body smaller, but Harry had still been alive and now…

It was then that he noticed for the first time the silver liquid moving on the ground towards Harry's body. He hadn't even registered when it had left his arm. He realized the moment the headmaster tensed next to him as the same the moment Draco realized where the silver was heading.

"Move aside!" Draco called out, not really understanding why he said it, but knowing that whatever that thing was, that it was connected to Salazar Slytherin and therefore to Harry and might be able to help him.

The Potion Master and the women starred at him and then at the approaching liquid. Startled they moved aside. The liquid moved over the ground and when it reached the still bleeding body of its master it slithered over the open wound like a shield stopping or holding back the bleeding. Draco couldn't tell. He watched for a moment as the liquid seemed to harden and then glowed in a warm blue light. And then Harry 's eyes snapped opened, his body bending slightly upward as he took a startled deep breath.

Madam Pomfrey and Snape moved closer to him again calling out Harry's name. His cousin trashed for a moment confused about, trying to fend off the adults of him.

"Hold him down Severus, he's going into shock!" Pomfrey said while she tried to hold Harry's lower body down. She turned to look at them. "Don't just stand there, help us!" she commanded.

It took barely a few seconds for the others to follow the order. Dumbledore and Lupin hushed around the two kneeling next to Harry and they reached out to assist them so that Madam Pomfrey could do her job. Only Draco and McGonagall remained in their position. Apparently this was even for the stern professor too much.

Draco let his gaze wander down to the small figure in his arms. It was dead, any help was already too late for the fetus in his hands. Taking a deep breath and trying to calm himself he tugged his Death Eater coat out and tugged the dead body inside before holding it close to him again. He closed his eyes willing himself not to cry while clutching the small black bundle to his chest.

The only thought that passed his mind was that something had gone terribly wrong.

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It had started to rain and a loud and bright thunder lit the Gryffindor common room. Hermione let out a startled cry when she noticed the shadow sitting by the window. The figure turned surprised to her sound.

" 'mione?!"

"Ron?" Hermione moved over to the window her steps muffled by the sound of her slippers. "What are you doing up this late?" She asked looking at his tired face.

He sighed deeply. "I can't sleep…"

She smiled softly at him and reached out for his hand taking it into hers. She noticed how much bigger they had gotten over the years in comparison to hers. There were still a child's but they no longer held the characteristic delicate features of someone young, but that of a man.

"Nightmares?" she asked looking at him and remembering how he had told her once that he used to have bad dreams about things that had happened to them because of their friendship for Harry.

Their involvement against You-know-Who had left even on them scars. Obviously they could never compare their suffers to the burden Harry or some of the adults held, but they had been too young to experience many things. She recalled too well how she had woken up sweating remembering the Dementors and the Dark Mark or her fleeing from Professor Lupin while he had been a werewolf. Those were things that could keep on festering in the mind of people even if they thought that they had not really touched them.

"Harry isn't here… again…" Ron replied to her like that would explain everything, and maybe it did to him.

Hermione sighed and sat down next to him on the window-sill. "He's probably wandering about the castle somewhere. " she explained. "You know how he is lately."

He shook his head. "That _is_ what has me worried." He passed a hand through his hair. "We are his friends, but how much do we really know about what is going on with him. About the nightmares that he lives through, because you have to believe me that even the silencing charms he puts on his bed do not stop me from seeing the agony of his sleep."

Hermione frowned.

"You haven't seen him scream without a sound in the middle of the night trashing widely in his bed waking up sweating and looking completely out of it, Herm." He said quietly. "And during this school year, things have gotten even worse. And you know very well what I mean." He looked accusingly at her like it was her fault that things between the three of them weren't like before.

"It just isn't the talking, the weird accent he sometimes has. It's not how he knows things not even _you _know, it's not his complete clueless expression he sometimes get either. It's like… like…" he waved with his arms in front of him struggling to find the right words. "It's like he's not himself anymore." He finally said.

She laid an arm around his shoulder and she could immediately feel him tense to her touch, but she did not retract. "Ron, he's growing up, just like you and me and that means that people change."

He turned to her, but in the darkness she couldn't make out his face. "You don't understand, 'Mione."

"Maybe I don't, but I think you don't either."

Lightning lit the room again and they starred at one another in worry and defeat. Defeat because both could tell that they couldn't change Harry. They couldn't help him more if he didn't allow them to.

They listened to the rain outside for a while before Ron spoke up again. "You know, there is something else…"

She frowned again. "What do you mean?"

He handed her a folded paper. She moved her arm from his shoulder again and reached for her wand. "Lumus." She spoke and looked questioning at Ron.

"Just read it and then tell me what you think. And tell me you _don't_ recognize the writing."

She unfolded the paper and read the letter. For a moment she didn't understand what Ron meant but then it slowly dawn at her and she turned with a horrified expression to him.

"Tom_ Riddle?!_"

He nodded slowly.

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Salazar felt the sudden energy rush through his body like lightning. His eyes snapped body and his body tensed up from the ground. He could hear voices about him, sense people kneeling and trying to hold him down, but all he saw were blurred colors. He felt complete disorientation. He tried to scream, to at least fend those people off, but his magic was not reacting to his will like it would under normal circumstances.

"Harry!!" someone called, a voice that he didn't recognize but that the child in the depth of his subconscious stirred to answer before slumping back into the dark abyss of Salazar's mind.

His body hurt. Couldn't they see? Couldn't they let go?

He closed his eyes for a moment and his body sacked limp back on the ground. He didn't want to fight now, he felt too exhausted. The thin hand on his arm calmed him, he recognized the magic connection between them. He was the protector of the host. The one bound to him.

No, not to him… to Harry Potter.

And although Salazar was now in this body the link was not to him. Was that the reason that the host still existed? The connection to the bond partner... The last link that kept the child connected to life.

Hands and magic roamed over him. Someone was examining him. Forcing himself to remain awake he opened slowly his eyes to stare at four pair of eyes.

"By Merlin, Harry, are you alright?" the brown-silver haired man at his feet asked.

Salazar looked at each of them. Who were they? He could only recognize the dark haired man. The Potion Master, Severus Snape, Harry's Bond Partner. He reached out to his unresponsive host and he saw himself wrap his arms around her body willing her knowledge to open up to him. He knew she would not fight him, there was no will to do so anymore in her.

Blinking slowly he started to be able to connect names to the faces hovering above him. Slowly he came to understand who they were.

"Harry?" the oldest man asked, Dumbledore… the headmaster of the school.

"Fine." He breathed out. "I'm… fine" which wasn't really true. He still ached everywhere but the magic connecting him to his wand-familiar was numbing the pain little by little while working to heal his wound.

"What happened, Potter?" Snape asked him and he looked his eyes with the man wondering if the other could feel the weak connection to the child.

"Black…" he took a deep breath. "Sirius… " he corrected himself. "He's in the second room. He needs more assistance then me…"

The one he recognized as Remus Lupin stiffened his hold on his legs painfully and he barely suppressed a moan.

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Murmured words broke through the mist of darkness that dwelled over his mind. People were speaking as he found himself lulled to answer the magic that called him from the depths of unconsciousness. Many people were speaking, he knew that somewhere in head he should be able to recognize them, but right now the mere call of wakefulness was draining most of his energy. Sirius wanted to succumb to the darkness but at another call of magic above him he forced his eyelids to open.

Blurry figures came slowly into focus as he starred at the pair of concerned eyes that belonged to Remus Lupin. Tears rolled down his lover's eyes as the man reached out for his face, but before he could come in contact with Sirius a hand snapped into view and held Remus back.

"Do not touch him." A dark voice said.

With some difficulty Sirius moved his head so see the other people standing in the room.

Severus Snape let go of Remus' hand before giving Sirius a careful look "I always knew that a mutt like you would simply bounce back from near death."

For a moment Sirius wasn't sure if the Potion Master's words were meant to reassure Remus or to insult Sirius himself.

"My boy, you're lucky your godson and Mr. Malfoy rescued you. And that of course Severus knew how to brew the necessary potion for your ailment." Albus explained as he came closer and looked over Remus down at Sirius laying on a cot.

Sirius frowned and wanted to ask what had happened, but found that his voice would not obey him. Only a strangled sound escaped his throat.

"You shouldn't speak yet, Black." Severus scolded. "As a matter of fact you shouldn't do anything at all until I or Madam Pomfrey say otherwise."

Annoyed at the attitude of the Potion Master but still greatly tired, Sirius found no strength to protest.

"I imagine, Black, that you would wish to be informed of what happened to you and how you ended up back at Hogwarts. I'm sure Lupin here will fill you in, but no touching!" dark eyes narrowed at Remus with an intensity matching a curse. "You will refrain from even assisting him in moving. Any touch could deal serious damage to his body, Lupin. I didn't go trough all the trouble of saving him to have you destroy my efforts."

Remus nodded fervently clutching his hands into his robs. "Of course."

The Potion Master nodded before swiftly turning around robes billowing after him as he left the room.

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Harry or more precisely Salazar was in a seating position leaning against the wall near the fireplace. The cold was being slowly replaced by the warmth emitted from the flames.

Draco had settled down next to him after looking for a long time uncomfortably at him. Salazar was too tired to comment on it, but was still astound that after what the boy must know of him that he still had the courage to sit down on his left.

There was definitely some Gryffindor blood in him.

Salazar had shifted uncomfortably for a moment when the boy had joined him. Draco resembled Godric too much for his liking.

Closing his eyes he tried to will his body to heal faster.

He could feel Draco's glance on him. They boy's curiosity was a good thing as long as he remembered that there were things that needed to be kept a secret and discussed in private.

"Harry was pregnant, right?" the boy asked in a soft voice sounding fearful.

"Yes." Was all Salazar answered, there was no use in trying to deny the truth. "Although she hadn't known."

Draco seemed to tense at the use of _she_, but he managed to cover his discomfort quickly.

"You killed her…" Draco whispered not looking at him. The boy's hands clenching and unclenching slowly from the bundle in his lap while he tried to keep a cool outer expression, yet burning with barely controlled rage. "You killed both of them."

Salazar looked at him not showing any expression. Draco's words were not a question, not an accusation merely a statement of a fact that the boy seemed in need to voice to comprehend the reality of it.

"There was nothing I could do for the unborn child, boy." Salazar said in a stern voice, trying no to sound more exhausted than he really felt. "It was either my awakening in order to save at least one of us or have the three of us die."

Draco snapped his head to look at him in cold fury that made the boy's features appear much older and so similar to Godric's. "I won't forgive you this!" he hissed. "Ever!"

A disturbingly cruel smile appeared on Harry's face as Salazar grabbed Draco's face forcefully, pulling him closer to him. "You are not one to judge me, child." He growled and let his eyes scan slowly the blond's features. "You, who hold the blood of a traitor in your veins; you, who has betrayed my legacy! You have no right!" his green eyes flashed with suppressed power.

Draco could see the magic flickering around Salazar, it scared him, he couldn't hide it. Salazar's hold on him was still too strong.

"Harry?"

Salazar released his hold on Draco hearing Madam Pomfrey call out for him. Schooling his face expressionless Salazar turned to her. She was standing with the Head of House of Gryffindor at the top of the stair.

The adults had gone all into the small room in which he had deposited Black earlier in order to assist Snape and Poppy with the injured man, after they had made sure that Harry was indeed fine for the time being and he wouldn't need their immediate attention anymore. Only now and then would the Potion Master come out to supervise the ongoing process of the Alchemy on Salazar's work table. The man would only look for a moment at him with suspicious and somehow angry looking eyes.

Snape obviously resented him still for the punch earlier.

After the final stage that cleaned the blood had passed, Snape had looked at him in question, but Salazar had only shrugged and closed his eyes ignoring him. With a swirl of his robes the man had left him and Draco alone having apparently succeeded in gaining some form of control on the situation of Black.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Severus stepped out of the room again and was shortly joined by Albus and Minerva, leaving Black at the care of Poppy and Lupin.

"I must say you have outdone yourself this time, my boy." Albus said to him in an almost fatherly voice.

"I did what was needed, headmaster, nothing more." Severus said in a tired voice. "Besides, I do not think I would have succeeded without the preparations that had already been started here."

And with this Severus brought the conversation to the origin of all his migraines: Potter.

Minerva nodded slighty, "I hadn't even known that there were quarters so deep below the castle, let alone imagined myself walking into Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. We can only be thankful that Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy knew of this place."

"Which, I believe, brings us to the question as to how they knew, let alone why those two were suddenly working together." Severus stated looking meaningful at Albus.

The old man looked over to the pair of boys, or better said young men, with a guarded expression on his face. "Yes, I believe we should have serious conversation with them. I'm especially intrigued about Harry's sudden change of appearance, although I'm more worried about the state in which we found him."

"Maybe you should tell us what happened to you first, Severus." Minerva drawled. "

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A/N:

I know, not as long as my previous chapter, but I do what I can.

I'm looking forward to rewriting the conversation between Salazar and Harry's friends and his memories on Godric and Rowena

I don't think I will be able to finish the next chapter within the next two or three weeks, since I'm still working on the next two chapters of 'Gods and Dragons' and a Naruto fic that has been lying all lonesome for a while without another glance from me.

Still I hope this story is so far to your liking, more or less.

Let me know, please


	3. Chapter 3

A/N:

So I've been away on vacation for a few weeks and have not been able to finish chapter 15, which I had intended to past along side this chapter. And since it's been a while, and I frankly hadn't had the chance to dedicate myself to the other stories I really wanted to update. I choose to post this chapter to ease some of the wait… please note that this story has no beta reader, and probably has lots of mistakes and such. (sigh)

I received a review asking if Harry was a girl… which he/she is… err, sort of… I can't explain it too well in few words. I can only suggest that you read Curse of Slytherin Part 1 and 2 in order to better understand the story. You can find those through my profile.

I better stop babbling now. I have a certain dislike for A/Ns that are too long.

Enjoy

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Chapter 14 

It had been a long time since Salazar had felt cornered by anyone, usually it had only been when Godric had been demanding his attention like a child his mother's, but things had changed over the course of the years and the only things that Salazar now associated with the blond was disgust, hatred, and if he were honest to himself, which he tried not to on this particular case, he was lonely and sad.

Salazar stood warily up with Draco as the three adults came towards them in a group together. He would have to play carefully now, especially with Snape and Draco so close by. So he tried to keep his expression calm and controlled, yet no so much as that it would become obvious to the older witch and wizards.

Enemies and allies at the same time.

He knew Draco would not act against him physically or magically, for Salazar knew that the boy was too attached to Harry to even damage the body that now belonged to Salazar.

The mind of the boy knew the difference, but the heart tended to be a cruel master, as he knew from experience. The heart would and could not yet differentiate between the Harry Draco knew and the Harry Salazar had become.

No, Draco Malfoy was not a threat for now.

Snape on the other hand could turn out to be a troublesome matter. Harry's soul was still alive through that man, still holding on, even if it didn't realize the connection yet. If the man could find a way to contact her through their bond, he might be able to force Salazar back into submitting his control over the body. And though Salazar had never previously been this awake in a host, he knew that such matter could be dangerous not only to him, but for Harry as well.

Not that he was particularly worried for his host…

"My boys, you have done wonderfully tonight." The old man Dumbledore spoke, his tone held a prideful fatherly tone.

He didn't like this man, Salazar immediately concluded. People that were this friendly tended to want to manipulate you for their goals and believes. This man hadn't been made headmaster because he was nice and had a soothing appearance for the staff, parents and students. No, he had gotten that position through a powerful intellect and the ability to make others trust him. Hogwarts wouldn't allow someone weak and stupid to handle it. The four of them had made sure of this when they had originally designed the castle grounds. Rowena and Helga were precautious when it came to the safety of children. It probably had something to do with female's mother's instincts.

Dumbledore was probably as much as a danger as Snape.

The woman, McGonagall, on the other hand, could possibly be made an ally to him. Those of Godric's House tended to be loyal once brought over to their side, they all held onto some utopian believe that the world was a good place to live in.

Salazar snorted mentally.

He knew better; years of suffering, loneliness, bitterness and grief had left their mark on him for eternity.

"Severus has informed us about the events that happened this evening, but there are sill a few holes to the whole story that we would like the two of you to fill." The man said looking over the brim of his glasses at them.

Salazar could feel the magical shift around the room. The old man was trying to use magic to verify the truth of the words that Draco and he would speak. Foolish as this action was inside of Salazar's own lair, he had to admit that he was somewhat impressed by the man's slyness. The magical essence of the spell was just strong enough that its magical touch would work but not powerful enough for anyone else to register. There was a good chance that even with his level of paranoia, Salazar might not have been able to detect it, had they been anywhere else then here.

Pale eyes wandered over his form. Salazar could feel Draco trying to read him, mentally weighting out how much trust to place on the adults and his ancestor.

The blond knew that his presence here was a 'family matter', it fell under Ancient Blood Magic and it was not something that was to be spoken outside of the families that were descendants of Slytherin. The Malfoy clan – or family, as they were called nowadays – had made sure that the secrets concerning Salazar would be treated as such – a secret.

Oh, Salazar was more than aware what they had been doing for decades. The part of him that awoke in his descendants and would return to him after their death had taught him much over the course of the centuries. And though he was furious at being partly controlled through a host, he had to admit that he was impressed by their sheer courage to try to defy him.

Yet as things were now, he had to thread with great care, for any mistake made now, could have Snape move against him. Salazar was still only weakly linked to the flesh, and it would need some time for his magic and soul to finally become fully settled into his descendant's body.

"Malfoy and I were listening in when Professor Lupin contacted Professor Snape about Sirius." Salazar started schooling his voice to sound agitated and worried. There was no need to reveal his presence yet, he would need to play Harry for a while and that meant using his descendant's words and manner of speach. "I forced Malfoy to take me to where they might be holding him. There, we were forced to split for a short while, and when I finally ran into them again, I realized that should we all leave with Sirius it would surely alert Voldemort to the professor's status as a spy. Since the consequences of that would declare Snape a traitor and surely put him on the Death Eater's target list, I acted instinctively by knocking him unconscious." Salazar looked over to the blond next to him to proceed speaking.

Draco's pale eyes narrowed a little when he turned for a moment to look at his ancestor before he proceeded to pick up on the occurred events. "I had taken a portkey with us to the Manor, and together we, that is, Potter and me, took Black and used it to come back to Hogwarts. We split again upon arriving, Potter saying that he would take care of his godfather as long as I went to look for proper help. I then headed to your office, headmaster, and the rest you know." He ended with a shrug.

Salazar was relieved that a least the child had had enough sense as to speak the truth, yet leaving the impacting and truly important facts out.

The magic around them shifted again and Salazar realized that they were still being probed, still being tested. Obviously the adults didn't know where to start asking questions and how much they could push the younger ones into telling them a more detailed report of tonight's events.

"Harry, my boy, I know that you have been here before, but you had not told me about this chamber, let alone of the things it held." The headmaster spoke pointing at the table covered in runes where the alchemy was still glittering over its surface. "How did you know to come here?"

Now it would start getting interesting, Salazar thought, from here on, the game would start. The information given would have to be distributed carefully, while the need to speak the truth still held.

"I had been here before." Salazar said shrugging lightly giving the impression of a young child. "Something in here," he gestured around them, "told me that I could find assistance when I was in dire need for help if I came back."

He snorted mentally. He wasn't lying, Salazar had been here before and the magic in this room strengthened him when weakened, otherwise he would probably not have survived his action off removing the fetus from his body. This was all the truth, it just simply didn't apply to the Harry they believed him to be.

"You mean magic?" McGonagall questioned in a tense voice.

Salazar let his green eyes rest upon her when he nodded. "I guess…" he gave his tone a doubtful note. "I only thought that there might be something in here to help Sirius…"

Yes, that was it. Give them the impression of a broken and hurt child.

The two older men eyed each other thoughtfully, he could feel Snape's doubt and controlled anger and he could see it in the old man's eyes that though he was worried about the events of tonight, he didn't want to push Harry too far too fast.

The woman on the other hand had played right into his trap, Salazar recognized with delight. Her eyes held a motherly tone, and any doubt of her loyalties lying with the other two adult evaporated the moment she laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Harry," her voice was gentle and soft, "I'd rather let you rest, but we would like to know what occurred down here before we came. The state we found you in-" her voice broke off.

"I'm…I'm not sure professor…" he stuttered slowly. "I just remember laying Sirius down and then… the next thing I know I wake up on the ground feeling like I've just met the wrong side of a Bludger." He looked at her, forcing his expression into a worried frown.

Her hand squeezed his shoulder in comfort. "It's alright, Harry."

Salazar congratulated himself on his acting skill.

"You two imbeciles." Snape suddenly growled and Salazar and Draco shuddered unwillingly at the harshness of the tone. "I told you to stay put and you two just walked off into the Dark Lord's lair!"

"Severus…" Minerva started.

"Don't Severus me, Minerva." He shoot back at her angrily, his patience apparently lost. "Did you two not stop to think of the danger you were exposing yourselves?!"

"We took precautions!" Draco snapped back irritated and cornered. "I told you I wouldn't let harm come to him! Had I truly believed him to be in danger I would never have let him come along." He explained frustrated. "You think we are stupid, but let it be far from it, since it was actually through us that you were not discovered. Father is not a simple man, professor, he knows that there are things moving against the Dark Lord's cause and he has been suspecting you for a while. You can't protect us from everything!"

Holding back the need to comment on Draco's sudden outburst, Salazar realized that the blond was deliberately going for a more direct reaction to avoid questioning.

_Clever boy… _Salazar thought.

Yet it was time that he took matters into his own hands, the green eyed youth concluded, before the headmaster or Snape started to strike out with their manipulative ways at them. While Salazar realized that he would have no trouble withstanding further interrogation on their part by telling them just what would be relatively harmless for them to know, he knew that Draco was still too young and inexperienced to play this sort of battles of the minds.

Which was why only a few moments later, after Dumbledore had somewhat succeeded into calming the two Slytherins down, that Salazar started to swoon a little and lifted his hand to his head with a groan.

"Albus!" McGonagall steadied her student. "That is enough for tonight!" she declared sternly. "You can question them further in the morning when the two of them are recovered and well rested."

"You can take your little Gryffindor, Minerva, but Mr. Malfoy and I are still going to have a long talk." Snape said just as sternly.

The woman huffed. "Nonsense! These young men had a tiresome night." She moved to stand between Draco and Salazar, her arms around their shoulder in a protective gesture. "You will wait till tomorrow, young man!" she declared, before ushering the students to move ahead of her towards the chambers exit.

Draco glances with a raised eyebrow at Salazar, and the green eyed one gave him a secretive smile in return mouthing slowly: 'I won'.

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The Head of House of Gryffindor escorted her two students back to the upper levels of the dungeon, surprisingly having memorized the way that they must have come previously with Draco.

All the while McGonagall scolded them gently but seriously on their way to the Slytherin Common Room. Draco figured this was better than having to explain what had happened this night. His fingers still clutched at the bundle in his hands and he couldn't stop glancing out of the corner of his eyes at his ancestor.

The young man walked with shoulders slightly hunched, but every step he made screamed to the blond of the dormant power that rested within. Draco had to admit that he was feeling like a rat in a snake's den waiting to be devoured.

Salazar Slytherin wasn't someone to be taken lightly, history remembered it clearly, and those descended of him, those of pure blood knew of the danger of his return, though Draco wasn't clear on reasons behind the fear that this man caused.

A dark wizard he had been called over the ages, a cunning and split-tongued man. A deceiver and manipulator of muggles and magical folks alike, that was the image with which he had been branded over the centuries and Draco didn't think that they were lying about it.

Green eyes glanced over to him as they approached the entrance to the blond's common room. There was an unnatural coldness in them to which Draco wasn't used. Harry had always held a glint of deviousness behind his natural charm, but never this outright indifference that the boy presented now.

"You should go straight to bed, Mr. Malfoy." Professor McGonagall said giving him a serious nod with her head. "I'm sure that the headmaster will want to see you right after breakfast."

Draco looked at her calmly, belying his inner fears. "We did what we thought best." He told her, but meaning for Salazar to hear his words. "Do you think that punishment for trying to save someone is justified?"

The professor's eyes softened and she stepped over to him laying her hands on the blond's shoulders and lowering her upper body somewhat so that she could look him directly in the eyes. "No one is going to punish you, but you must realize that we need to know why a Gryffindor and Slytherin, like you and Mr. Potter, are suddenly working together.

"I cannot say that I condone your actions entirely. You exposed yourself to unnecessary danger yet you somehow managed to come back to us, though not quite unharmed."

"I did what was needed for the survival of the majority." Salazar said slowly from behind the professor and McGonagall turned her head slight to look at the changed boy. "Sometimes sacrifices are needed for the greater good, and we do not always posses the luxury of time to plan everything out in order for it to work as we'd like it to."

Green eyes locked with pale eyes. Draco understood the subtle message though it pained him to hear with what little emotion Salazar excused his demise of Harry.

A sigh escaped the older woman. "You two are still too young for this." She declared with slight irritation. "Nevertheless, it is late and I'm sure tomorrow everything will be discussed properly."

It was obvious to Draco that the Gryffindor had not understanding of the conversation going on right in front of her. He and Salazar were two Slytherins speaking to each other by playing the sly games of lies and easy flowing riddles that was part of who they were. The master trickster and the apprentice in their layer with the oblivious lion as she stood between them, keeping unknowingly a safety distance between the two snakes. Draco wasn't sure if he should feel thankful for the professor's presence next to him or not.

"Good night, Mr. Malfoy." McGonagall said with a gentle smile that although comforting in gesture, felt disturbing to the blond considering the rivalry between her and his house.

"Good night, professor." He answered politely before stepping away from the two. He looked shortly at his ancestor, but the young man only returned a blank expression, and Draco decided to leave things for now as they were. Turning his back to them he headed towards the Slytherin's dorm entrance.

"Malfoy."

Draco stopped and turned around at the sound of Salazar calling him. A dangerous smile was on the tall boy's face and his green eyes held an eerie light allowing the sleeping powers to be seen but not felt. Yet this small action was enough to send cold chills down his spine and Draco instinctively wanted to take a step back.

"Good night." Salazar said in dry amusement before turning around, his robes billowing around him in the same manner they did around Draco's Head of House. And as the two Gryffindors left down the dark tunnels of the dungeon, Draco felt his legs give out under him and he sank to the ground with a racing heart beating loudly in his chest.

"What devil has awoke?"

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The rain had somewhat ceased outside, the thunder echoed far away now having taking the lightening along as it moved over the mountain tops away from Hogwarts.

Hermione starred up in the darkness of her dorm at the ceiling above her bed in deep worry. Sleep had eluded her for tonight. Her quick trip to the bathroom and short meeting with Ron had left her utterly disturbed about the third member of their trio and her mind couldn't calm down enough to allow her to find proper rest.

A snorted laugh escaped her.

"Trio…" she whispered against the sheet that she had drawn up to her face, her tone held a mocking sound even to her own ears.

Though she had fiercely tried to calm down Ron by assuring him that Harry was still their friend, that the letter was probably just a coincidence and not some dangerous plot in which their friend had been drawn, she couldn't convince herself to believe in her own words. The truth was right before her and she couldn't keep looking away in hope that things would just fall back into place as they had so often done in the past.

Harry had changed, it was as simple as that and yet it was so much more complicated, because it wasn't just small things that had become different.

Hermione was aware that change was part of life and that she had to accept this, but with Harry's distant behavior over the last month it had become hard to turn a blind eye. Her friend's action and words spoke of things that Harry was not trusting his two best friend. At first she had thought it was because Harry wasn't even aware of the changes he was going through, but recently the look in his eyes had changed and she knew that he held the knowledge to the reason between the growing distance between them.

The changes weren't even normal things that she could simply associate with normal puberty. The difference between this new Harry and the old from the year before was just too great to be classified as 'normal' teenage behavior.

Hermione turned in her bed and lifted her hand to her face thoughtfully.

Harry's studies had become extraordinary good, almost too good in her opinion. At first she had had been joyous at his increasing interest, but now he was secluding himself behind a pack of books in the library. But now, if she was honest to herself, she was a bit scared of him.

It wasn't just her jealousy at his fast advances that was stirring this thought, no, it was much more.

Something elemental was changing in Harry and it was turning her friend into a stranger. At times she would even get the feeling that it wasn't even Harry at all who was sitting with her at the library or would join them at the Great Hall.

His brilliant eyes would turn dull, almost cold at times. And this in itself was which truly worried and hurt her most, because he had lost the interest to confine in his friends. It was a betrayal of the heart.

But how could she tell Ron this? His trust in his best friend went deep and strong, even if the two of them had had their differences in the past, Ron and Harry had always found their friendship back.

Yet now…things had changed and she didn't even know how to communicate this to Ron without causing irreparable damage to all of their friendship.

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The moon shone high in the morning sky over Malfoy Manor. The tall, majestic trees of the nearby forest towered over the small forms of the Death Eaters patrolling the yards after this late night's events. In the distance, Tom Riddle could hear the soft and luring whispers of the dark, and for once in a long time he felt content. In fact, he hadn't felt this content for a long time.

However time was a matter that appeared to Tom Riddle like a distant memory. Time didn't really exist for one such as him, who had returned from the dead to walk once again in the realm of the living. Life and death were concepts that, although fearful in themselves, eased his heart with longing, for neither was for him to grasp.

He was a prisoner of war.

Not that many knew or cared about this, but to him the knowledge that even as a prisoner within his own body he could revolt against his oppressor made his miserable existence almost worth living. Especially now…

A slow and mad smile crossed his features, while he continued to observe from his chamber the sky brightening slowly with dawn approaching.

Lucius Malfoy would be in for a surprise. All his family had hoped for, all they had so desperately tried to control had in one night been taken right out of his hand without the man realizing his loss.

Amusement bubbled in Tom's chest and he couldn't help laughing out loud.

His master didn't know what danger he had forgotten to protect himself from. It had been a mistake to not take James Potter's words more seriously in the first place, let alone to ignore the heritage of the man's child. And now, of this Tom was sure, Malfoy would be made to pay for this mistake.

Salazar Slytherin was a man to be taken lightly, Tom Riddle knew this probably better than anyone else considering that he had held part of that man's memory in his heart and mind for over two decades. But now, to his great joy there was only an empty and hollow feeling within him.

It was ironic somehow, he thought. One of the greatest and most dangerous wizards of old had returned and all Tom could think was how grateful he was for Harry Potter's demise, for that was the only reason by which Salazar could have awoke.

The death of the Boy Who Lived.

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The night held an almost threatening grip on Salazar Slytherin. Under normal circumstances he would have worked through his irritation by busying himself with work, but now, in this new body, with so many problems surrounding his recent awakening, not to mention the lack of a working space to release some stress, he could hardly find rest in the turmoil of his mind to calm down successfully in order to sleep and allow his body to deal with the sudden changes imposed on it.

He was physically exhausted, but his mind kept going and going like some kind of energizer bunny.

At the last thought Salazar groaned out loud and covered his face with his hands.

These thoughts, these emotions that were bubbling in him now and then reminded him of the soul that still resided somewhere within the confinement of this body. They were a residue of the girl's memories and his own mind tried to adjust and mix with the knowledge already within the flesh in order to allow a smother flow of settlement for Salazar.

He, however, did not like the influence of a child's mind upon his own.

Though there was little he could do against it.

He should have realized that the transfer of a soul into another's body, through a blood ritual on his own line, would eventually cause some troubles. Especially after he had rearranged the spell to allow him to keep part of the knowledge of his host, should his soul only be able to bond half-way upon the host. The last thing he needed was not to be up to date when he awoke.

There had been many who had stepped through the gate of the great chamber below Hogwarts. Many who had been of his blood, but the purity too weak to allow Salazar's magic and spirit to transfer completely while erasing the mind of the initial spirit. He had learned many things through out the years; he had seen how the world had changed over the long centuries in which he had been mostly trapped by either an unfinished bond or the magic of the Malfoy Clan trying to control him.

But that was a matter that he would dedicate his thoughts to another time, because he would have to device a plan in order to remind those of his blood that had dared not to only impose upon him, but had also forgotten the blood feud between the Slytherin and Gryffindor House.

And Salazar was not a man to easily forget nor did he forgive.

Slowly he lowered his hands from his face and sat up on the bed, the curtains were closed tightly around him. He felt trapped instead of reassured of the solitude that the soft material provided. Slowly he reached out for the curtain until he felt the texture of it in his hand, and as carefully as he had reached out for it, he pushed it aside. The soft and pale light from outside shone through he window. The storm had long passed, he knew this, but the sky was still clouded and the moon partly hidden behind the dark clouds as they moved in a slow pace on in the sky.

Cautiously, Salazar moved to sit by the edge of his bed, the last thing he needed right now was to catch the attention of Harry's friend.

Had MgGonagall not accompanied him into the dorm, to make sure that he truly would go straight to bed, and warned the Weasley boy against disturbing 'Harry's rest' for tonight, Salazar was sure that the red-haired youth would have questioned him of his whereabouts and tonight's event.

After all, 'Harry' no longer looked like himself. That alone had obviously disturbed the boy more than the haggard look in which Salazar had arrived here.

Emotions stirred in Salazar again, emotions that he had learned to keep in check, to keep hidden in the depth of his heart, because he couldn't allow himself to feel anything after all that had happened.

Love was too much for him, it only lead to loss and inevitably to hurt and pain.

He had never been very good dealing with either.

Emotions in general were a bother. And it had taken many years of guidance by Rowena to learn to cope with others and learn to accept as well and give a part of him for relationships.

He closed his eyes tightly at the wave of loss rising in him. No matter how long ago it was, the feelings he felt at the thought of her did not change. Like a knife in a wound, he felt the pain flare up and whirl strongly in him.

Something wet trailed down his face, but the proud man he had become ignored the visual evidence of the things that went through his soul that this new body tried to voice.

The cooling feeling of his wand slithering over his lower arm towards his hand allowed Salazar to forget for a moment of his current situation. The familiar feeling of strength that his familiar and wand provided him with was a welcomed change to tonight's events.

Raising his hand up, he regarded the silver snake as it lifted its small head from his hand and turned in a gentle and flowing motion towards its master. It hissing quietly at Salazar in worry and the man couldn't help the small smile that surfaced on his face.

Slowly he moved his hand closer to his face and nudged the snake gently willing his thought to be transferred to it in order to reassure it of his well being.

In a matter of a moment the snake responded to his mind by dissolving into a liquid metal. He could the cold it emitted moving from his hand and arm over his face. Like quicksilver it continued its path down Salazar's neck before it resettled under the clothing on his shoulder and retained its previous form.

Closing his eyes again, he tried to dwell on the calm emotions his wand-familiar passed on to him.

And as the minutes passed, Salazar felt the distance towards his emotions increased. A calm and controlling feeling rose. Quietness emerged in his mind that he knew other only obtained through long hours of meditation, but that he called forth through the magic in his familiar and in himself. For they were connected through old rites that in this age had long been forgotten, but that he as a living momentum of the past recalled all too vividly.

And with the calmness in his heart, mind and soul, Salazar found that he could focus again. Focus on his purpose here; focus on his duty to the child still resting in him and the promise to repay her great loss. For he knew all to well what it felt to lose one's own blood.

Green eyes, void of emotions, snapped open.

For a moment the rigid control over himself wavered when his eyes caught sight of a lion crest on the curtains across him, but he dwelled it again reminding himself dutifully that a great wizard, a man of his status, did not need emotions of any sort, for he should be above them in order to find the right path for his life.

And so he reminded himself of the fact that he doesn't hate, even if somewhere deep inside of him he knew this to be a lie.

Suddenly he felt a disturbing grip at his soul. An invasion of his mind...

His familiar dissolved on his skin again, sinking deep into him pulling Salazar along. Darkness blurred his vision and the last thing he felt was his body falling lifelessly back upon the bed in a quiet thud.

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Hogwarts. One of the only places in the wizarding world in which he felt at peace. And as a Death Eater he rarely found peace. Constantly on the run, constantly hiding and balancing between the darkness and the light of his existence without going mad. He was constantly battling whatever enemy came upon his road. It was a wearisome life and those type of things he dealt with could quickly build upon a person.

Indeed, it only made Severus wonder why he hadn't gone mad by now.

But tonight, he couldn't bring himself to lay his wand aside, something he hadn't done since his early Death Eater days. Perhaps it was the horrors of the night, perhaps the shock at seeing the sudden and unexplainable changes of Harry Potter, or maybe the empty feeling housing in his chest that dared to pressure him with every breath he took. He was pretty confident that he wouldn't be able to find an ounce sleep tonight, even in a safe place like Hogwarts.

Severus sat in darkness in his chamber. Complete darkness, and under normal circumstance he would feel at ease even at peace with himself, but not tonight. He felt as if he were back in a meeting with the Dark Lord, only in a strange way, he felt even worse. Why however, he couldn't tell. Perhaps it was the unknown events of the night that had him feeling fear, because frankly he had no idea why he was feeling this out of place.

He needed to focus, he knew that, but his mind and heart couldn't stop calling out for something that was missing. He couldn't forget the estranged emotions that had risen at the sight of finding Harry Potter once again bleeding his life out on the ground in the course of mere hours.

He thought quickly to himself and came to a short solution. Whatever was going on, he needed to be prepared for it. He needed to find a solution and there was no other way to get out of the dark void than to start walking.

So he purposely rose from his seat in the dark, and walked. He walked out of his rooms, walked out of the Slytherin dungeon through the barely lit hallways into the depth of Hogwarts' sewer and walked back through the opened doorway into the Chamber of Secret.

And then he came suddenly to a halt.

For how long he just stood there and looked at the face of Salazar Slytherin glancing menacingly down at him, he didn't know. He had no way to tell time, when his mind continuously strayed without finding a singly thought to concentrate on.

And then, without forewarning, panic took hold of him. Every fibre in his body tensed and he begann to walk quicker towards the huge statue at the end of the cave. He had to find out what had happened to the boy in there. He had overlooked something… something important. He had to see for himself.

Severus ignored the loud pounding of his feet against the stony ground as his walk became a jog turning into a run. He didn't notice the feel of air rushing in his face nor his harsh breathing as he came to a sudden halt at the stairs down to the alchemist's laboratory. The cold grip on his soul was driving him mad.

He starred at the bloodied ground in which they had found Harry Potter lying. Slowly he approached the scene and with every step he took he could feel the darkness closing in on him. But it was a different kind of darkness to the one he welcomed. This was too oppressing… too much…

The abyss opened up around him and swallowed him. He couldn't hear, see or smell. He was devoid of all senses and Severus found himself standing disorientated, frightened.

He tried desperately to calm down, but he found he couldn't. He tried to think about his duty and all that mattered to him, but he found he couldn't remember them. He couldn't remember anything, not even who he was.

There was only fear left. Fear and this… this darkness.

He tried to call out, but he couldn't. He tried to scream, but his voice would not obey him.

The fear grew, overwhelming him.

He fell to his knees sure that he could not survive this. He knew.

A thought flashed through his mind with blinding force: Harry.

But what was 'Harry'? Was that supposed to mean something? And then another strange but familiar thought came: Hogwarts. _Hogwarts?_ But what was that? And then came more. Like an opening flood his memory came rushing back. Albus, the Dark Lord, his name…

He remembered. He remembered. He couldn't stop right now, not here, not without answers.

And so he rose again, determined to live, simply because he knew that this was not his time…

It was then that the darkness parted. Slowly it morphed back from him leaving him standing in a dark and muddy passage. He smelled the humidity in the air like a heavy curtain.

Severus realized that his senses had returned to him once more.

His eyes narrowed while he tried to reason with the situation, but he had never before experienced something similar to this. The thought to call out came to him, but he knew better than to reveal himself to the unknown. That was a mistake that only the ignorant committed.

As long as he didn't know if he was in danger he had to presume the worst of the situation. His hand involuntary slipped up his sleeve, to where his wand lay secure. The wood felt strange to his touch, almost cool, unreal.

But now that he noticed, words spoken to him by his mother a long time ago came to his mind: 'Do never lay it aside, for even in sleep you will seldom encounter a safe haven. And even then, do not trust in something so frail.'

Now as he stood here in the dark, and he was once more reminded of the wisdom of his mother, he wondered if he would ever find a safe haven at all in which his mind and body could find their needed rest without fear.

However, he doubted that such a place existed at all. He had found many enemies in this war, even at the most unlikely places and time, and this was not a matter that would change any time soon, this he knew.

After a few more moments of thought, Severus decide to search out this strange place and find a quick way out, hopefully without being discovered. He pulled out his wand from his sleeve, ignoring purposely the alien feeling it emitted in his hand and went to find an exit.

Quietly he moved through the mud, his steps not making even the slightest noise. The passage curved, but every time he allowed his paranoid mind to glance back, he would only encounter that the path he had come from had been swallowed back by the dark.

Worried he continued his path, his wand illuminating the path ahead as he held it ready for battle in front of him. Severus took his time to study his surrounding, but to his great annoyance there was little if any change at all.

Finally, when the passage made an u-turn, a heavy silver door appeared in front of him.

Approaching it cautiously, he lifted his wand up for the light to reflect upon its surface. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to recall where he had seen a similar design before.

Snakes formed a circle with tails while their heads were turned outward and each was biting into the hard stone like they were trying to hold the door in place. An uncanny feeling crept upon him, when he recalled where he had previously been and the image to the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets came to mind.

Draco Malfoy had walked closer to it and the more he had approached the huge entrance the livelier the snake had gotten. The sound of unlocking had followed and slowly the heavy door had swung open to reveal its hidden chamber.

Wondering how the boy had achieved such a feat, he moved closer to touch the metal with his own hand, but before he could come in contact a shimmer started to spread from its centre spreading all over the silver. A bright flash followed and Severus was forced to cover his eyes with his hands.

Once he deemed it proper to take a look to what had occurred, he found himself standing at the entrance of a large chamber that reminded him unpleasantly of the room in which he had found Harry Potter once unconscious, after his escapade from the infirmary. The walls were dark, but he could see the outline of banners, though he could not make out their designs. The room brightened to the centre where a large round table stood, four chairs around it.

Severus moved carefully closer to them. The one whose back was turned to him looked old and rotten, on the one to its right he could make out the shape of ravens carved into the dark wood. The one on the left side appeared elegant but old in a comforting manner.

On the last chair though, as Severus moved around the table he could see a young woman sitting. The dark ebony snake's on the wood above her head seemed to look everywhere, but the woman herself was starring blankly down at her lap. Her shoulder length dark hair looked wild and untamed, which made her look even more youthful to Severus, but what surprised him the most was the she was clad in a Hogwarts school uniform.

Cautiously he approached her, but she took no notice of his presence. He looked down at her, wanting to will her to look up to him, but he found himself unable to voice his need. So instead he lowered his wand and reached tentatively out with his other hand for her face.

"Halt!!" a male voice ordered angrily.

With trained speed, Severus spun around, while raising up his wand in order to defend himself.

A tall man stood before him, tall and dangerous, power flickering from his body as he tried to contain it.

"Step away from her!" the man hissed in anger flicking his silver wand in command at him.

But even though he felt fear of this stranger, Severus found himself grounded to his spot, it was like invisible chains were binding him to his place.

"Step away!!" the man growled out now, his previously cold green eyes flashed dangerously like the Avada spell, yet still Severus held his place.

This stranger seemed familiar, though he couldn't find reason for this and he evoked a primitive form of fear that was blinding Severus mind until dizziness came over him and he stumbled down to his knees. He reached out to find a hold. He felt the ruff texture of clothing in his hand.

"No!!" the man called out alarmed.

And as Severus looked up in disorientation, his eyes locked with green eyes similar to the man rushing towards him and the blank look in the woman's face seemed to change as recognition of him arose slowly in her eyes.

However, before Severus could say anything, he was hit by a wave of power and the dark swallowed him once again.

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A/N:

I focused mainly on people's emotions in this chapter, which is why the story itself progressed only slowly. Though, next chapter will hold some introspective on Godric and Rowena and heir relationship to Salazar, that I have already finished, I just need to finish writing the connection to main plot.

I know that Tom's interpretation of Salazar is different to how Salazar sees himself, but please note that Tom only knew part of Salazar's character, thus he can only interpret things from the information he had and is unable to see the whole picture.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:**

God!! Though I already had this chapter half way finished when I posted the last one, it took me like forever to put everything together the way I wanted to. I'm still not 100 happy with it, but I'm feeling a bit guilty 'cause the last update was sometime last year. -- So here you are. It turned longer then my normal chapter length.

I hope the formating doesn't get screwed... I seem to be having problems with it. sigh...

Enjoy

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Chapter 15

Salazar felt something nudging him to wakefulness. With a groan he opened his eyes and looked into a silver image of himself starring with worry at him. The silver form above him hissed at him in irritation and anger. Salazar frowned in response.

"What do you mean, someone broke into my mind?" he questioned, while sitting carefully up and inspecting his surrounding.

His silver doppelganger hissed again pointing anxiously into the darkness that surrounded them.

"A man?" Salazar asked in rising worry.

His silver mirrored-self nodded.

Power whirled around Salazar when his calm slipped and anger bubbled up. He reached out for the silver man's hand pulling him along as he ran into the dark, forcing his mind to form a path to lead him to the girl that resided now in the back of his thoughts. He could not allow Snape to find her, not now that he had finally control of her body. Not this short after awakening.

The cold hand in his hand dissolved and reformed into his wand. He flexed his free hand's finger feeling magic surge through his mind and respond to his call and the dark morphed into a stone hallway. Loudly his steps echoed through the emptiness around him while he continued to rush on.

He came to a sudden halt in the large room. The room he had created out of his memory from his time when he had still worked alongside the other three founders at Hogwarts. It was a perfect replication with exception that his emotions had deteriorated more or less the furniture of the room.

Alarmed he watched as Snape approached the young woman. The man looked cautiously but curious at her. Salazar could feel the bond between those two vibrating in the air around them. And when Snape reached out to touch her, panic took hold of him

"Halt!!" Salazar ordered angrily, feeling the control of the calm disappear completely.

With obvious trained speed, Snape spun around, while raising up his wand in a defensive motion.

Power flickered around Salazar in response to his inner turmoil, he could barely contain it.

"Step away from her!" he hissed in anger flicking his silver wand in command at him.

But Snape did not appear to hear let alone react to his order

"Step away!!" he growled out this time, feeling power surge through his mind and fill the chamber in which they were, yet still Snape held his place.

Unwavering Salazar allowed his magic to whirl menacingly towards the intruder. And it was now that Snape showed a reaction to the threat the other posed. Dizziness took hold of the pale man and Salazar saw fear reflected in the man's eyes.

Swaying on his feet because of the oppressing presence Salazar represented, Snape stumbled to his knees. Primal instincts kicked in that moment, and Salazar watched in slow horror as the man reached out to find some hold and touched Harry.

"No!!" Salazar called out alarmed.

But it was too late already.

The young woman had moved to look at the second intruder. Her face showed the slow pace in which recognition settled over her, but before she or Snape could act, Salazar had wielded his power at both of them. Chains sprung to live around the woman trapping her to her seat, while a black whirlwind forced Snape back out of their minds.

Heaving in panic, Salazar glanced at the young female. Green eyes -just like his own- looked up at him in reproachful defiance. Hate towards him was vividly reflected in them, but Salazar was used to those looks. What worried him though, was the pain and resignation that he saw in them before the green in them deadened once more and Harry sank lifelessly back into the seat.

It was the same look Rowena had worn that day. The same emptiness that had been the final blow to his and Godric's friendship…

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Remus heard a loud crash coming from the main room of the Chamber of Secrets. Alarmed he looked over to Poppy, but the medical-witch had fallen exhaustedly asleep after the tenacious battle for Sirius's life and hadn't stirred at the loud sound.

Reaching for his wand, Remus moved carefully up from his position next to Sirius' bed and headed out of the small room. His nostril flared when a wave of toxic scents passed him. He shuddered uncomfortably, but knew the smell not to be dangerous to him. It was simply a necessary evil to the art of potion brewing, though it did not necessary mean that he had to like it, which was probably why he had never understood the passion Severus held for it.

The wolf in him caught the scent of blood, dried blood.

The image of Harry lying motionless on the ground flashed through his mind. The horrified emotion awoke in echo to his already alerted state, causing the monster within to stir in response to his feelings, but Remus had years of practice and knew how to pacify the beast that roamed in him.

So, refocusing on his purpose for leaving Sirius' side, Remus continued cautiously towards the more open area of the chamber.

The air was still heavy with magic and the substances used for Sirius cure. Strings of magic residues lay dormant over the runes of the working tables and the ground, but it still caressed his skin uncomfortably and not to mention the scents, which made his nostril twitch in disgust.

The large chamber was enveloped in an eerie atmosphere. It was made even more estranged by the magical lights and the flames dancing on the walls in their unnatural motion illuminating the room in a fake daylight. The shelves arranged on the far wall looked old but not worn, as though time had never passed for them. It caused an unrealistic contrast to the old magic and smells that eroded around him.

But Remus had been told of this room.

The Chamber of Secrets was a relic from a time in which wizards and witches were still part of the natural magical creatures and did not stand above the other as now. Civilization had changed both men and magical folks alike, and though normal men had grown, they, just like the wizarding community, had never evolved passed their shadow.

The radical line that differentiated men from other magical beings was as thick as the one between different religions. None would wander from their path, and none would yield to the other willingly.

That was the nature of men.

And for that reason alone, Remus would always be a lower cast, never equal or part of the whole.

Moving carefully forward, his wand ready for battle, Remus continued towards the centre and the stairs that led to the lower part of the room and to the working area.

A groan startled him, the werewolf growled in warning, but was immediately silenced when Remus caught sight of the familiar figure on the ground.

"Severus!" he exclaimed alarmed and rushed over the man. "Severus!" he called out again as he fell to his knees besides the Slytherin. Laying his wand aside, Remus reached out and tried to turn the man around to see if he was injured.

With a pained groan the Potion Master felt himself turned to lay on his right side. Hands touched his body searchingly. His first reaction was to tense, but upon opening his eyes slightly, he recognized the hovering figure of the werewolf.

It didn't make him feel particularly better, though.

"Stop touching me, Lupin." Severus growled annoyed at the other man.

Surprise and obvious relief passed over the ex-professor's face so quickly, that had Severus not been lying so close to see, he would have most likely missed the moment it was replace by bitter anger. Slowly, like a human behaving towards a ferocious beast, Lupin removed his hands from Severus' body, holding them in a defensive position before him.

"What happened?" Lupin asked in a very serious tone, while he moved his hands to come to rest on his knees in the same slow motion with which he had removed them from the Potion Master.

Severus felt his body heavy, his mind blurred and he had the uncanny feeling of being trapped within his own flesh. He could feel a residue of unknown magic lingering over him. He tried to focus on Lupin's question, but somehow, the memory of how he had gotten here or why he felt so throughout manhandled, evaded him.

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Ron loomed worriedly at Harry's bed.

He had lain awake in the dark, after he had made sure that Hermione returned to her room to return to sleep. The silence was only disturbed by the soft breathing of the other boys resting wistfully under their own warm covers. But unlike them, Ron couldn't dissipate the worry that plagued him nor the need to know if his friend was well. It had kept any possible chance of sleep away.

When finally, in the early morning hours, he had heard the soft sound of the door of their dorm opening, he had immediately felt his body go tense. Quietly he listened to Harry move like some thief in the night through the room towards his bed. The sound of sheets being thrown back and a body finally resting was the last thing Ron heard, before the room was once again filled with the gentle sound of four sleeping boys.

But even afterwards when he had known his friend to be by his side, he couldn't find the peace of mind to gain even an ounce of needed rest.

And so he had remained where he was, starring at the ceiling, his mind repeating the words of the letter over and over again in his head, that by the time the others started to finally get up for class, Ron had felt so exhausted and tense that he just knew that he wouldn't be able to ignore this obvious problem any longer.

It was time to confront Harry.

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Memories…

It was the ability to store, retain and subsequently retrieve information. But when the memories, you had considered to be yours for so long, turned out to be nothing but an echo of someone else inside of you, when they hadn't been his to begin with, how could he believe that all that remained inside his mind wasn't merely his imagination. How was it possible for him to still continuously have access to them now that the original carrier was no longer connected to him?

Tom shuddered unwillingly as another soft echo of a female voice called out to him.

The tall woman's image flickered for a moment in front of his eyes.

She was no stranger to him, over the years Tom had gotten used to her presence, to her wavering laughter inside his mind and the clenching of his heart at her sight. But now that Salazar Slytherin's presence had left him, her image was nothing but a faded echo of residual magic still festering inside his head.

He knew who she was, knew what she meant to the dark wizard, but though he also knew that she was nothing but an illusion of Salazar Slytherin's emotions and magic, her memory and the knowledge that he still possessed could one day soon become useful to Tom. It would aid him in forcing the hand of his ancestor and he supposed that it was only fair that he would repay the man in the same manner that Tom had to live.

Bribery and blackmail, the two most useful abilities of the house of snake.

Yes, it was only fair that if it came down to it, that Tom knew which buttons he would need to push to achieve his goal.

A sinister laugh escape his lips then.

Lucius Malfoy wouldn't even know what hit him.

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Determination was written all over Ron Weasley's face as he pushed himself off his bed and moved the few steps to that of his friend.

They needed to talk. It couldn't go on like this, because though Ron had never considered himself a worrier like his mother, he couldn't find rest while he did not know what was going on with Harry. He was lacking hours of sleep and his patience had finally reached his limit.

He supposed that Harry needed this distance that was growing between them. He was well aware of the fears that the other boy to possessed. To be afraid to loose that which he held dear and was important to him, it was eating at Harry but it was reaching a ridiculous stage now.

Ron couldn't stand any longer simply watching this growing estrangement between them.

With a forceful grip, Ron took hold of the curtains of Harry's bed and pulled them aside in anger, which until that very moment Ron hadn't realized that he was even feeling.

But as he started to call out to his friend, the words disappeared from his mind at the sight of this stranger lying asleep in Harry's bed.

Startled he gapped at the youth under the covers. Ron's eyes wandered to the incredible long dark hair that covered the sleeping form like a blanket. The dark red covers that was visible underneath the dark mass rose gently up at down with rhythmical breathing motion of the body.

Ron looked slowly up to see a pale face turned slightly to the side, the left hand was laying on the pillow while the other laid absently over the young man's chest.

Incredulous he starred at the silver snake bracelet around the left wrist before Ron's eyes moved once more to the pale face.

The thought that he had no idea who this youth was started to form in his mind, but when the dark haired one rolled to his side and his bangs move out of his face, Ron caught sight of a swollen familiar scar on the face.

A lightning bolt…

A whispered wonder escaped Ron's lips "Harry?..."

Shocked he took a step back from the bed starring in disbelief at the form before him. This motion caught the attention of the other boys in the room.

"Hey Ron, you okay?" Seamus asked from his side of the room, while he tried to tie his school necktie.

Ron looked up at the sound of his name. He didn't know what expression he was wearing, but it couldn't be a good one, because the other boy's faces lost its amused expression.

"Ron?" Neville asked moving over to him.

"Harry…" The read haired simply said and Neville blinked a moment in confusion before turning to look at the youth on Harry's bed.

"Merlin!" Neville exclaimed.

That was the cue for the other ones in the room to run over to them to look at whatever Ron and Neville where looking at.

Silence followed for along moment and it was Seamus who ended up finding his voice first.

"Is that Harry?" the boy voiced the question roaming in all of their heads. "And what and when did he do that?" he pointed at the mass of hair.

"It can't be Harry…" Dean said slowly. "Harry isn't nearly that tall."

And this time the group of boys turned to look at the pale feet sticking out from under the covers.

"But… but the scar…" Neville said approaching the still sleeping youth. "Look at the scar!" he pointed at the mark of the Boy-Who-Lived. "He's got to be Harry…" and as though that was all the confirmation that he needed, Neville reached out and shock the sleeping boy's shoulder lightly. "Hey, Harry, wake up."

A groan escaped the long haired young man. "G'way…" the boy muttered waving Neville's hand away and turning around to curl to a ball on his other side and return to sleep.

"Harry, I really think you should wake up." Neville said pulling at the boy's shoulder and forcing him to turn around to face them.

Reluctantly the young man turned and opened slowly his eyes. A pair of tired green eyes glared up at Neville.

"I hope you have good reason for waking me." The young man growled in annoyance before sitting up with a hiss. "Damn!" the boy exclaimed reaching with his left hand for his head. "That hurts!" he muttered.

"Harry?" Ron asked.

Green eyes looked up to the call. Then slowly, the boy lowered his hand from his head to rest on his tight, and a blank expression appeared on the long haired boy's face. "Ron." The boy simply said.

"Is that you mate?"

A tired snort escaped the youth. "And who else would I be?"

"What happened to you?!" Dean exclaimed loudly.

Harry closed his eyes in pain. "Stop being so loud!" he snapped. "My head feels like it's going to split."

"Well with that mop hanging from your head, it's no wonder." Seamus said with a forced laugh.

Harry looked up at him and then back down at himself. Tentatively he reached out for the strand hanging down his shoulders.

"Figures…" Harry muttered to himself but the others waiting obviously for an explanation, had heard him nonetheless.

"Harry, mate, I think you should explain to us what you did to yourself, because frankly, you're freaking us out a bit." Dean said seriously to him. "I mean, Ron almost jumped to the other side of the room at your sight."

Ron slapped Dean on the back of his head. "Stop being so exaggerating."

"What?" Dean asked innocently, rubbing with his hand at the sore spot on his head..

Harry looked up at them, a strange look in his eyes that Ron could only remember having seen on Snape's or Malfoy's face before. It was a mixture of calculating and something else Ron couldn't name. It was almost like… like… Ron wasn't even sure how to explain it.

Then Harry sighed. "I had a little encounter with Malfoy last night and… well…" Harry shrugged. "I ended up at the wrong end of a spell."

"Malfoy?" a chorus of voices shouted at him making Harry wince once again.

"Damn it! What part of not being loud was lost to you guys?" Harry snapped again.

A murmur of apologies followed the Boy-Who-Lived's outburst.

"What happened?" Neville asked sitting down on the border of the bed. "Weren't you two ignoring one another?"

Again Harry shrugged, and he moved absently a hand up to gather his hair to his right sight. "We were both out after curfew and got tangled in a messy argument. To make a long story short, McGonagall found us, scolded us and dragged us back to our respective dorms informing the two of us that we will be seeing the headmaster in the morning."

"Damn." Seamus whistled. "Your luck really sucks."

That comment broke the tension between them, that Ron hadn't even realized until then that it had been present. They broke out in familiar laughter and when Ron looked over to his friend, he could almost see him through this strange mask that he had to wear now.

"Do you think it can be reversed?" Neville asked with a gentle smile.

"I didn't dare ask last night, last thing I wanted was to further a confrontation with the angry lioness." Harry said rolling his eyes. "But I figured that the professors will try to fix it today."

Seamus nodded in mock seriousness. "Yeah, I mean, we lot are Gryffindors, but there's a limit to our courage. You should definitely not mess with wild beast."

When the laughter stopped this time, Ron had already forgotten why he had gone to wake Harry up in the first place.

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Lucius Malfoy considered himself to be a cautiously smart man. He was prideful, yes, but he took great care of how he presented himself to society as not to reveal more than was needed. He had learned throughout his childhood how to hide, how to play the games of hide-and-seek by lying either by omission or straight out untruths. He had been taught by his father how to play these games, strictly and swiftly as not to fall too deep if something went wrong.

And he had bathed in the attention given to him by his father; earnestly he had followed and memorized the instructions and warnings given, and by the time he had finished school, he was sure that he had grown into the young man his father had wanted to make of him.

And when the day came to finally be given the chance to join his father's side, he realized that had never truly considered if this path that he had been walking until then was simply by choice or by his inner desires to please the older man.

He remembered clearly that day as though it had been yesterday. The morning air had been filled with the humidity of coming rain, while the mist dissipated slowly around the manor. There had been an uncanny silence, and Lucius recalled having thought that the calmness he was witnessing was but the calm before a storm.

His father had stepped out to him to the front door and with a calm and steady voice, he was informed that now that Lucius had reached maturity he would need to be told and taught the last family secrets, so that when the time came, Lucius would know what to do and how to act appropriately to the situation.

In hindsight, Lucius should have listened to his mother's warning about following blindly someone, even if that someone had been his father. But that was long ago, and Lucius had come to learn to live with his action and decision without looking remorsefully back at them.

Tom Marvolo Riddle had not looked much older than him, when Lucius had first been introduced to him. He had immediately sensed a sleeping power ghosting right beneath the man's skin, power that spoke of things that his father wanted and sought. It hadn't even been necessary for the older man to explain to him why Tom Riddle, handsome and obviously powerful as he was, was kneeling in front of his father. The sheer pressure of the dark magic around the slightly older man was enough for Lucius to link it back to his father.

Control.

Strict and powerful control.

That was the image presented before Lucius.

The master and the servant.

And as quickly as Lucius recognized all this, as swiftly it disappeared again from his senses.

When Tom Riddle had slowly returned to stand on his feet, he had looked with empty and cold, blood-colored eyes at Lucius.

"I greet you, young master." The older man had spoken in a powerful and graceful voice that had cause Lucius to shiver in response at the magical intonation in the spoken words.

"Do not ensnare him with your skill, boy." His father had spoken in a harsh tone slapping a hand across Tom's face.

Lucius had watched in surprise as the dark haired man's head was slapped and blood trickled from his lower lip, but otherwise the older man just turned in a calm and almost calculating manner towards his father. Tom Riddle had shown no sign of remorse, but utter submission.

"As you wish." Tom spoke slowly, inclining his head in a respectful manner before turning his blood-eyes towards Lucius once more.

"I am Lord Voldemort, young master." The man had explained, and this time there was no magical resonance within the room.

Lucius had looked at him for a long time, trying to figure out what he was supposed to deduce from this double introduction.

His father had referred to the younger man as Tom Riddle, but when the dark haired one had introduced himself he was speaking of himself in a manner of power, but he presented at the same time submission to his father and thus to Lucius.

It was on that day that his father had confined in Lucius the last secrets of their family. The will and heritage that was suddenly rested upon his shoulder, the responsibilities and sudden options presented to him had made him almost dizzy. But allowing himself to show weakness in front of a servant was unforgiving, especially in front of someone like Tom Riddle, that was one of the rules his father had made sure he understood early on and that Lucius had always followed and insisted that his own son understood as well.

Soon Draco would finish his education and then it would be Lucius turn to act upon his heritage and prepare Draco accordingly to his family status.

He had to admit to being worried about the boy's resent behavior though. Draco had been seen during the night shortly before the escape of his two most priced prisoners, and now the other Death Eaters were murmuring behind his back about the lack of trust into the Malfoy family.

There was a good chance that it hadn't even been Draco to begin with; it could easily have been someone under a charm of disguise or Polyjuice. Draco could not have entered the lower ground alone, let alone have gone unseen by Snape. And Lucius knew from experience how powerful and strong Severus was on his own. The man was like a weed. Impossible to get rid off, but still one of the lesser evils to have close by. Though how loyal he was to the 'Dark Lord's' cause was still a mistery to Lucius.

No, Draco couldn't have overpowered Severus.

He certainly hoped that his trust in his son was not misplaced.

Lucius sat up on his bed and looked over the sleeping form of his wife in worry. Absently he played with the strands of her hair cascading over her naked shoulder.

Something was happening though.

The magic in Riddle had changed, though how or why he was still unsure. Through the magical bonds that he had placed over the older man were still intact, they didn't inform him of the reason behind the changes only that they were taking place.

Maybe his cousin had been right from the start. If Riddle continued to be more of a problem than an useful tool, then it would be better to get rid of him. It would not be great loss either, after all his cousin's son had been in the chamber already, Lucius would only have to trigger the curse and take the boy as a replacement for the current Dark Lord.

It would be hilarious indeed if the Boy-Who-Lived was turned into the next most dangerous dark wizard. That certainly would throw the wizarding world into a whirlwind of chaos.

He chuckled softly, maybe it was time to do a little research on family laws. It could provide to be useful to see if he could take custody of the boy. Considering the status of the Malfoy name and that he could provide young Potter with proper upbringing of the customs of his wizarding heritage better than Lily Evan's muggle relatives ever could. He was sure that there would be little trouble, if he decided to take that path.

"Lucius?"

He turned to his wife looking up at him.

"Yes?" he asked reaching out to push a few strands behind her ear.

"What are you plotting now?"

He laughed aloud. "You know me too well, my dear." He said leaning down and kissing her lips. "Don't worry, I'm not plotting anything yet."

She reached up to his face with her thin and elegant hand. "Just don't do anything rash."

He smiled at her. "I won't."

Kissing her once more, he moved to get out of bed and get ready for the day. Maybe it was time to have a Death Eater meeting.

There were a lot of thing to be done.

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Hermione couldn't stop herself from starring at Harry. And Ron realized that she wasn't the only exception.

When Harry and he had come down the stairs with the other boys, it had been like the whole common room had suddenly decided to look in their direction at the same time.

Apparently Seamus, who had gone ahead of them, had already spread the rumor of Harry's night time encounter with Malfoy and that he had somewhat changed. A few had approached wanting to obviously question him, but Hermione had rushed forward with a worried and yet shocked expression and had thrown herself onto Harry clinging to him and muttering over and over again that he was an idiot.

Ron had expected that Harry would assure her that everything was fine by returning her hug, but instead he had stood there looking utterly awkward and out of place. His body language spoke volumes of how uncomfortable he must be feeling in his changed body, or he really did not like for Hermione to be so close to him, but latter was ridiculous. It wasn't the first time that their friend expressed her feeling towards them by seeking physical closeness.

Needless to say, Hermione wouldn't allow anyone from interfering in her sudden outburst of lecture mode as she vividly reprimanded Harry about his lack of common sense and if he was out to get her to die of worry, he was doing a fairly good job at it.

Harry had then laid calmly a finger on her lips silencing her.

"Are you finished now?" he had asked in an uncharacteristically quiet tone.

Hermione had nodded slowly, taken back a little at the uncharacteristically reaction of their friend.

"Nothing beside the obviously physical change occurred to me, Hermione, so there is no need to worry." He had smiled gently at her then, almost lovingly and for a moment Ron had felt a twinge of jealousy rise in his chest. "Besides, I am quite sure that I will be hearing quite a lot from the Head of Houses and the headmaster. The lioness already informed me that Malfoy and I would be called in for a serious talk."

Hermione had blinked confused, obviously she had not been expecting this calm and mature manner in which Harry presented himself before her.

And Ron remembered only thinking: _the lioness?_

Twice already he heard him called McGonagall that, and though at first it was funny, now Ron realized that the tone and manner, in which Harry pronounced it, was speaking volumes about what was going on inside his best friend's head. Sadly, Ron had no idea how to interpret the information he had.

On their way to the Great Hall Hermione pulled Ron aside with a worried frown on her face.

"Have you spoken to him? What is going on?" she hushed at him.

Ron sighed. "Hermione, I haven't even gotten the chance to see him alone since he woke up, and frankly I don't think I should be confronting him in front of the whole house."

"You haven grown, you know." She said looking thoughtfully at him.

"I've heard it happens when you get older." He said in a joking tone.

The girl huffed and boxed him playfully on the arm. "Oh you!"

He laughed and Harry turned around on the steps below them looking perplexed up at them. "What's keeping you two?"

"We're having a little moment here, mate!" Ron called out, waving at Harry to keep going on with the others.

But where he expected Harry to laugh and make a joke at him, the now braided haired boy only glanced at Hermione with a flickering emotion in his green eyes that reminded Ron too much of the changes that had been distancing the two of them.

With a quick nod at them Harry had then turned around, his braided hair moving like a snake in the air behind him.

"Something is terribly wrong." Hermione whispered reaching out to get a hold of Ron's hand in suppress fear.

And Ron could only nod in agreement.

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"Shit, Malfoy! You look like crap!" Zabini said to him as the two of them met at the exit of the common room.

"Thank you for stating the obvious, Blaise." Draco growled.

"Did you sleep at all? 'cause I've got to tell you, you look like some of the wandering ghosts of this castle, pale and more dead than alive." The other boy said, while opening the entrance to head out of the dungeon in order to head out to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Let's not talk about that." Draco waved with his hand at him to drop the subject. "I just want to go back to bed."

Blaise laughed amused. "I can clearly see that."

Draco just glared at him.

Quietly the two of them moved along the dim lit corridors towards the stairs that led to the upper part of the castle. As they reached the stairs Draco looked up to see Goyle and Crabbe jogging down towards them.

"Hey! We've just heard!" Goyle said coming to a halt before Draco. "That must have been some awesome spell you hit him with."

Draco blinked, but didn't allow himself to show his confusion outwards. "Of course." He said, though he had not the slightest idea to what the taller boy was referring to.

Blaise obviously had no qualm in voicing his ignorance of the spoken subject and immediately question the other Slytherin.

"Well, the Gryffindors are all talking about it." Crabbe said. "The fight between Draco and Potter."

Zabini turned to look at Draco in surprise. "What's he talking about?" he asked pointing at the other boys with his thumb.

Draco cursed mentally. What the hell was going on?

And though he wasn't sure how to react, Draco decided to play it safe by going with his usual routine of arrogance and dislike for his cousin.

"They are probably saying that Potter kicked my ass, or something alike." He snorted dismissively.

Zabini looked at him through narrow eyes, but before he could speak up Goyle interrupted him.

"Actually, they are all saying that you manage to curse him and changed his appearance or something alike." The boy explained.

It was then that Draco realized what was happening. He barely managed to stop himself from slapping his forehead at his slow proceeding of last nights events. Of course, Salazar would have had to explain Harry's different features and what easier way of doing it by simply reading ahead the encounter the two of them were going to have with the teachers and use it to his own advantage.

Salazar was covering last night happening by lying or telling only half-truths, though he wasn't quite sure how much his ancestor was truly revealing.

Draco would surely be called out to speak to the headmaster just like Salazar would. And the older wizard was using the simplest laws of human nature to assist him.

Everybody loved to gossip, especially when the stories involve the Boy-Who-Lived.

Draco would be placed in his usual position as Harry Potter's adversary. A conflict between them was nothing new to the student body, just the timing was probably a bit off, but Draco knew that he could cover on his side such matter.

The fact hat he and Harry had played out their hidden friendship to the public by ignoring one another could be used as an excuse on his part for the enmity between the Gryffindor and him to have simply exploded on them after ignoring it for too long.

Zabini seemed to be expecting for Draco to comment on the fight, but Draco not knowing exactly what was being said, couldn't allow himself to come up with some fabricated story just yet. Though it wouldn't be the first time that Draco's story, should he make some mistake on his version, was different to what everybody else believed to know, but he wasn't about to risk himself not knowing what Salazar Slytherin was up to.

Rolling his eyes then and moving a hand trough his hair, Draco spoke up: "Those damn Gryffindors are probably exaggerating again. Potter was fine and alive last night."

"Which can't be said about you." Blaise joked putting an arm around his shoulder. "I'm curious though. What spells did you use?"

Draco smirked. "Now, now, Zabini, you don't really expect me to reveal my secrets." He locked his eyes with the other boy's in false amusement before removing himself from the other Slytherin's hold and making his way up the stairs. "If you're so curious, why don't you see the result of my nightly activities for yourself?"

Blaise laughed following him. "Oh, I will. Don't fret, Malfoy, I will."

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Lack of sleep did nothing to ease Severus mood in the morning, especially if one considered the events of last night.

Having to go in search for Black while he had been in the middle of interrogating Draco Malfoy, who later on ignored his order and had followed him with Potter into one of the most dangerous places of all Britain, was not anywhere near what he would consider a calm and peaceful night.

Not only had both boys exposed themselves to unnecessary danger, but also had caused a bunch of questions to arise inside of the potion's professor's head.

What worried him most at the moment though was not Potter's and Malfoy junior's odd relationship, or the Potter boy's changed appearance, or even the Dark Lord's strange behavior. No, what had his mind in current turmoil was the fact that he had awoken to Lupin finding him on the floor in the Chamber of Secrets in the exact position that they had previously found Potter and Severus held no recollection of how he had come to be there.

Last he remembered was deciding to go to the chamber below the dungeon and leaving his quarters. Vaguely he remembered passing the large door of Slytherin's private domain, but whatever had happened afterwards was swallowed in the abyss of oblivion.

Something had happened though, of that Severus was sure, because the empty feeling inside his head resonated with magic that wasn't his own, but every time he had tried to reach out for it, it was like walking into a solid wall.

Lupin had been worried, hovering about him like some alpha wolf over his pack, which considering the man's curse, was not that farfetched. Only the insistence of Severus to have Lupin return to Black's side had finally freed him from the other's watchful eyes.

"Good morning Severus." The seemingly ever cheerful voice of his colleague greeted him to the entrance of the Great Hall.

Severus looked down at Flitwick and nodded in greeting. He saw no need for an idle chat at this early hour, especially after a night like the last.

"Have you heard?" Flitwick asked walking next to him towards the end of the hall to the teacher's table.

"Heard what?" he asked, while glaring at the students that were in his way, who in turn ushered to get out of his path.

"There seems to be a rumor going on about-" Flitwick stopped in mid-sentence and laughed shortly. "Why am I asking you this?"

Severus looked down at him. Obviously the last comment meant rhetorical.

"You, of course must already know, being Head of Slytherin and all." The small man continued to speak. "So tell me Severus, how much of the stories about Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter can I believe, because I have to tell you that the students are already spinning their own obviously exaggerated version of last night's fight between the two." Flitwick's expression turned serious when he looked up to meet Severus tired expression. "Though admittedly, I had expected a confrontation between the two to erupt at a much earlier date. It was only a matter of time, from my point of view, before the enmity between those two would finally boil over."

"The students tend to change even the simplest thing into a dangerous creature in their ridiculous need to fill their life with something frivol and entertaining." Severus complained avoiding answering the subject and headed for his seat.

Flitwick chuckled. "You make it sound as though you had never been a student yourself."

Severus snorted. "Try to refrain from reminding me." And he settled in his place.

His older colleague laughed again shaking his head lightly and headed for his own seat.

Left in peace to eat, Severus reminded himself, that even if he had wanted to answer the other man's question, it would have been in vain, simply for the reason that the potion master didn't possess the answers either.

With a mixture of irritation, tiredness and anger, he reached out for his cup, but his movement froze at the sudden cold shudder and empty feeling that erupted in his chest. And whether by coincidence or not, Severus was found himself starring at the figure of a tall youth in Gryffindor uniform that was so familiar and yet had become overnight a complete stranger.

The hall fell into silence at the youth's sight and Severus didn't realize that he too had even forgotten how to breathe at the sight before him.

Last night that boy had already posed an enigma, but this extreme change…

_How?!_

With the same empty expression with which he had looked at the potion master in the dungeon of the Dark Lord, the boy glanced once around the hall until their eyes met.

Green into black.

A cold grip at his heart made Severus tremble, emotions of loss erupted in his chest. He gripped with his hand at his chest, trying to will himself to breath, but those eyes held him prisoner.

And then, as quickly as it had come, the moment passed, when the boy turned his gaze from him towards the Gryffindor table, and Severus filled his lungs with air, while his heart raced inside its ribcage and his blood had been filled with a sudden dose of adrenaline.

The Potion Master followed the youth move feeling at loss, unsure of what had just happened or how to act accordingly to it.

However, his dark eyes remained on the boy as he moved with uncharacteristically flowing motions to where the other Gryffindors were waving at him to join them; his long hair slithering like a living creature through the air after him.

And it was then that a random thought made it through to his conscious mind.

_Who is that?_

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The hall had been filled with children, loud chattering and the scent of breakfast.

Surprisingly similar to how Salazar remember it from his own time, only difference was that this time he was sitting trapped among those that considered themselves loyal and trustworthy.

He had wanted to snort dismissively at the though.

He knew better… no… he had learned to know better.

While Salazar had always praised cunning for his own students above all else, he was no fool as not to believe that they were also a bunch of manipulative little trickster that would one day grow up to be liars and schemers behind the back of the public eye.

But at least Salazar knew where he stood among them.

Gryffindor House on the other hand was a terrain hat Salazar had always been wary off, even before the whole fiasco with Godric had occurred. The glorious ones, who basked in the achievements of others, the breakers of words and oaths that praised their honesty into the skies and the traitors, who believed themselves to be absolutely loyal.

There is nothing more frightening than finding yourself lost in the light, because darkness though cruel and dark, can never be as cold and blindingly deceiving as the illusion of safety.

No, a Slytherin betrayed you for their search for power and greed, but Gryffindors struck you down when you least expected them, which was probably why their treason would always be so much worse than whatever Salazar could conceive.

The ancient wizard was brought out of his musing by a red haired girl before him.

"So Harry, are you going to be telling us what happened?"

Green eyes focused on her, and Salazar drew the knowledge of names from the depths of his mind. "Not much to tell, Ginny." He answered, disturbed and relieved that his manner of speaking had simply adjusted to that of the body and not Salazar's own.

"Oh, mate!" A boy to his right said while filling his mouth with a spoon full of cereals. "You are depriving us from some awfully good gossip on ferret boy!"

Salazar felt suddenly the need to lash out at the insolent fool who dared to insult his house and name by calling his descendant names. But thankfully the body kept his expression cool and passive, not outrageous and wild as the whirlpool of curses that were on the tip of his tongue asking and waiting for Salazar to release them.

The Gryffindors around him erupt in a mass of loud voices and demands.

Irritation seems to be suddenly suffocating him, imprisoning him here among his enemies.

And it must have shown on his face, because as suddenly as the crowd had gone wild around him, it quieted at the deadly aura that must have slipped out of him.

A hand lands on his shoulder and Salazar turns around with a menacing glare.

"What?!" he found himself snapping, before he could even process the thought that his emotions were still out of control and the body was still in the process of adjusting the previous owner's reactions to the new holder.

The lioness looks down at him with a raise eyebrow. "Mr. Potter, I hope you haven't forgotten about your pending talk with the headmaster." The elderly woman said to him with a stern expression.

"Of course not, professor." Salazar responded, while willing the calm and cool to settle over him once again.

"Then please come along, Mr. Malfoy is already waiting."

At her words Salazar looked at the entrance of the hall, and indeed found the young blond man standing impassively but with a schooled expression on his face.

With a swift motion, Salazar rose from his seat intended to follow McGonagall, but a voice called him back.

"Harry?"

Salazar turned around to Hermione and feeling a sudden uncharacteristically fondness for her, he smiled at her. "Don't worry, Hermione, everything's going to be fine." He said in a reassuring voice before bowing his head in a gesture of departure.

He turned from the girl and headed out in direction of the great door, but not before wondering why he allowed himself to feel anything at all in the girl's presence.

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Tom Riddle did not smile, not with five dead bodies at his feet, his hands smeared in blood and his wand pulsing with dark and cruel magic.

"I'm a fool." He whispered, " A fool with some unbelievable luck." Though whether good or bad, he couldn't tell.

But then again, if Tom considered it again; he was no real fool, at least not more or less than any other man in his situation, and neither was Lucius Malfoy.

And he knew this with utmost accuracy, because in contrast to popular believes, it was Tom who backed up Lucius during raids. Lucius knew perfectly well what he was doing once he had a goal, the man would rather die than let off, and the first time Tom had seen him change into fighting mode, he had been truly shocked. For he had discovered, that in the midst of battle, Lucius was viciously cruel. He took pleasure in killing.

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Upon seeing Salazar join him at the entrance of the Great Hall, Draco first inclination was to nod in acknowledgement at him, but then the resentment, hurt and loss of Harry was still fresh in his mind and Draco couldn't help himself from glaring at his ancestor.

"Potter." Draco growled, though he had been tempted to actually refer to the other wizard by his true name, if only for the sake of seeing everyone's reaction to it.

But Draco knew not to reveal his cards too early into the game.

"Malfoy." Salazar responded with a neutral voice, while reaching up to push a stray strand behind his ear.

How come his hair had grown so long over night, Draco mused as they both followed McGonagall through the school.

From the corner of his eyes, the blond observed the other youthful looking man. It was not a new experience, he was a Slytherin after all; it was in their blood to spy on others.

In their blood…

A cold shiver ran over Draco at the thought.

They came to a stop at the headmaster's office. The professor raised her wand and tipped the head of the statue with it. Draco watched as the statue moved back into the wall revealing the door to the office. With a worried feeling Draco stepped forth when McGonagall opened the door and held it open for them to enter.

Insecurity gripped at his heart.

He had no idea how much Salazar was meaning to reveal or if he was even going to confess that technically he had killed the wizarding world's hope of stopping a raging Dark Lord, even if Draco knew that in truth all they would have to do was to defeat his own father.

The headmaster was already sitting at his desk, waiting.

He felt Salazar move up next to him while McGonagall moved to stand next to the desk.

Absently, Draco noted, that his own Head of House was not present for the meeting.

"Ah, my boys, good that you came." The old man said gesturing for them to settle on the chairs readied for them.

Draco snorted mentally, the headmaster made it sound as though they had had a choice in coming here to begin with.

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"You speak as though this has already been decided." Bellatrix Lestrange said, looking at her Lord for any kind of confirmation to her words.

"My dear," Lord Voldemort spoke with the hissing slur of a snake in his voice. "You must admit that Lucius idea would solve many of our problems."

Lucius' eyes followed his servant's hooded figure moving across the room passing by the other present Death Eaters.

"My Lord, this outrageous idea would require of us to use muggle means!" his sister in law protested vehemently, obviously not in the least pleased that they were trying a non-violent approach on the Potter-dilemma.

"Bellatrix," Voldemort spoke turning in a fluid motion to her. "Sometimes to reach a certain goal it requires the use of unusual means." He played absently with his wand in his hand. "Though, like you, I would rather have an open confrontation with the boy myself, I think that Lucius's plan deserves some merit."

With grim satisfaction, Lucius observed Bellatrix's quite outrage; her lips had pressed into thin lines and her hands had turned white with the strength she held them closed into fist.

"If you allow yourself to calm down a bit and think this plan through, you might see the long run benefits we will undoubtedly gain." Lucius allowed himself to speak up. "Dumbledore has always held the upper hand on anything concerning the boy, because he has the legal back-up of the Ministry most of the time. With a legal adoption of the boy into the Malfoy House, Potter would stand no chance to avoid fleeing from our grasp as before."

"We understand this Lucius," a man stepped forth from the mass of hooded and masked shadows, but Lucius recognized McNair nonetheless. "but Bellatrix observation is not to be ignored either. The boy's legal guardians are still muggles and thus would require of us, or better said _you_, to acquaintance yourself to their law system and associate with them in order to have a complete legal outcome on this matter, since this seems to be what you want." The man raised his hand in a pointed gesture. "Are you willing to bring a half-blood into your family? Someone who is our enemy?"

"Are you willing to deny the truth and gains of my words?!" Lucius asked in annoyance.

Voldemort's sudden laughter brough everybody's attention back to him. "I think we shall allow Lucius his little detour to our cause, if only to see how Dumbledore will react." The Dark Lord moved over to Bellatrix and Lucius saw the sheer submission and adoration of the woman towards her master reflected in her whole composure. "If this indeed succeeds, then my dear, don't you think your cousin Black, should he still live, will be more than delighted?"

A cruel smile formed slowly on Bellatrix lips. "Indeed, my lord."

Voldemort spun around again, his cloak moving with a swift sound behind him "Besides, since this will involve muggle administration, I am sure that by the time Dumbledore is informed of this, it will be too late. Do you not believe the same, Severus?" he looked pointedly to the man next to Lucius. "Or does the old fool possess spies of his own in their absurd world?"

"No, my lord." Severus answered smoothly.

"Well then…" dark blood red eyes focused on him. "Your idea is approved Lucius Malfoy, I certainly hope that the results will be a promising as you have made them sound, because I do not like strays, not even such with such fine heritage as you." The deadly and cold tone with which the Dark Lord spoke to him made the men and women around him stiffened, but Lucius was above them, and thus simply nodded with acknowledgement.

"Potter aside for now, I believe you have some reporting for us Severus." The Dark Lord turned to Snape again. "What happened to Black and Lupin?"

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He could tell lies, he could speak riddles and it was no hardship to breath manipulation. Those were things that came natural to Salazar, for it was the way by which he had survived all those years, and though he considered it a great ability, sometimes, he had realized throughout the years he had known Rowena that it was the plain truth that made deceiving that much more powerful and frightening.

But right now, in the presence of this old and powerful wizard, Salazar knew that neither lie nor truth would serve his goals, and for that reason alone he would have to walk the middle road.

The grey path…

He was glad that at least Snape wasn't here. He didn't want the man presence reaching out to his host again, not when Salazar's own connection to the body was still so unstable.

Dumbledore waited for either of them to start speaking, lengthening the silence in the room to an almost unbearable presence, but Salazar knew when to execute patience, and Draco being a Slytherin would have to have been taught by his family about the finer arts of politics.

Though, right now was neither the place nor the moment to show his true self, and thus he would have to act Harry's part accordingly to what he knew of her.

From the corner of his eye he saw Draco's hand twitch in barely contained nervousness. It was the signal he had been waiting for. It was time to start the game.

With calculated ease, Salazar slipped into his role and he let out a deep breath before schooling his expression into a nervous frown.

"Malfoy and I have a deal…" he started in a low voice, his eyes searching Draco's before returning to the headmaster's.

"A deal?"

Salazar registered the change of the atmosphere around him: the curious peak in McGonagall's aura, the worried twinkle in the old man's eyes before he looked at the blond youth next to Salazar.

Taking another deep breath he let his voice change into a tone of guilty confession as he spoke next: "Malfoy doesn't want to take the Dark Mark, and so he came to me seeking help for his situation." He turned again to the blond.

Pale eyes remained guarded, but he could read in the boy's body language that he understood where Salazar was leading him along.

The headmaster regarded the young Slytherin with caution, and Salazar could see it in the old man's expression that he was trying to asses how much faith to put into "Harry's" words and Draco's motives.

"You realize you could have come to me, Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore said looking over the rim of his glasses at him. "I would gladly have offered you all the help I could."

"With all due respect, headmaster, there's little you could have done for me." Draco said in a guarded tone.

"But Harry could?"

Draco leaned back in his seat and sighed. "Let us be realistic, headmaster, I can't be seen coming to you for assistance. My father has means of finding such things out, and if he knows, then I can assure you that the Dark Lord won't be far behind when they come seeking me out. I know for fact that Professor Snape and my father are part of the close council You-Know-Who confines in. The man is my Head of House, a spy for the Dark Lord within these very walls." Draco exclaimed spreading his arms in a wide gesture. "How can you possibly believe that I could come to you for any help, if I have to fear that my own Head of House, my own housemates and not to mention my family would stand against me?"

The blond shook his head in exasperation. "No, I couldn't come to you for help." He looked at Salazar grimly. "But Potter was an entirely different matter."

Salazar raised curiously an eyebrow, but didn't interfere with Draco's speech. A worried feeling nagged at the back of his mind, reminding him not to put too much trust into his descendent, but another part of him knew that the boy would not act foolishly if Salazar did not provoke his ire any further. For as long as Draco wanted to something - whether information or something else - from him, so long would their unspoken truce hold.

The blond turned his focus back to the adults at the desk. "What do people say?... Your enemy's enemy is your friend."

The headmaster observed them, his magic scanning for lies in their magical aura, but Salazar knew that without a real spell or a potion, the man would have to rely on his instincts to verify the truth of their story. Although Draco's words had not been completely truthful, they were not lies either, and as such the little understanding one could gain from magical aura reading, even someone as powerful as the headmaster, was not much more than a ghostly idea that they were not outright lying.

Thoughtfully both adults regarded them.

"What about your presence in Professor Snape's quarters last night?." Dumbledore finally asked. "He told me that you brought Harry, who was bleeding profoundly, to him, asking for assistance, but due to our call for him, he was unable to inquire on what happened."

"Profoundly is a little exaggerated, headmaster." Salazar intervened before Draco could respond to the question. "Malfoy and I were practicing for our DADA classes." He shrugged. "He hit my arm with a spell before I could defend myself. It partially knocked me out and Malfoy just panicked at the sight of so much blood. But… as you can see I'm fine now." Salazar added pulling the sleeve of his uniform slightly up giving sight to his unscarred arm. "See, nothing a little healing spell couldn't fix."

McGongall straightened and put her hands on her hips in obvious displeasure. "You are aware that to avoid exactly such matters, there's a rule that states there will be no magic done outside of the classrooms?!"

Salazar inclined his head a little to the side in order to make the impression that he was seriously thinking over her words. "Well, technically, we were inside a classroom when it happened."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously at him and had the real Harry been sitting in front of her, then he would probably have cringed.

But that wasn't the case and Salazar had stood before far worse foes than her.

_Gryffindor_s…Salazar thought annoyed, but didn't allow his own displeasure to be visible on the outside. His wand familiar emitted a cooling calm from its liquefied position on his upped arm.

It was time to bring the interrogation to the next level.

Nothing deceived so well as the truth, he reminded himself.

"There's something else you should know…" Salazar began, his voice holding a slight tremble of insecurity.

McGongall was about to say something, but the headmaster laid a hand on her arm. She looked down at him in protest, but he returned it with a serious expression. In non-visible amusement, Salazar watched as the older woman's lips thinned in disapproval, but held back any comment that might have followed.

Slowly the headmaster's eyes turned to Salazar. "Harry?"

Closing his fists around the material of his robes, Salazar allowed himself to look utterly miserable before he spoke his next words.

"Peter Pettigrew is dead."

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The Dark Lord was displeased, that much Severus knew from the stiff position in which the man sat in the large seat at the end of the room. Severus had only offered very little information on Black and Lupin to the mad man, since he based his whole act upon the fact that he had had very little time in which to inquire at Hogwarts for detailed news on last night's events to begin with.

The fact that Voldemort had not only lost them as prisoners but also lost a dozen followers had only added to fuel the man's disapproving and angered state. It was no wonder he had leashed out and taken his fury out on the poor fools who had been appointed to guard duty last night.

The scent of blood and death still hung heavily in the room.

"Severussss…" the hissing tone in which the dark wizard spoke would have made him shudder had he been younger and less experienced on handling the older man's mood. "What of Draco Malfoy?"

Lucius stiffened next to him.

"It appears that he and Potter had a fight last night, which left Potter with a changed appearance…" he started making sure to keep his voice in a reporting tone.

Lucius' head swung to him, but Severus couldn't allow himself to look at the other's surprised expression.

"I must apologize, but for this matter I was also unable to inquire further information." He bowed submissively to his master.

Silence filled the room for a long moment, before he heard the movement of clothing approach him, but he didn't dare look up until the tip of a wand lifted his face and he looked into the hooded face of Lord Voldemort.

Red eyes scanned his face. "I do not like to be kept in the dark, Severus."

Magic hit against his mental barriers with brutal strength, but he did not sway at the sheer force with which his mind was being read. Slowly he allowed his thought to wander to how the boy had looked when he had entered the hall and how different he had suddenly seemed to Severus. Thoughts and confusing emotions whirled to the surface to be caught by the wandering magical essence of the other man.

Then just as swift as the first strike had come, Severus felt his Occlumency barriers return to their proper place.

"I see." The Dark Lord finally stated. "It seems that your son is starting to become quite a force to recon, Lucius. Maybe it would be time to initiate him." He said turning his attention on the blond man.

Lucius lips twitched, before they split into a dark and cold smile. "Of course, my lord." The blond man said deliberately slow. "Draco _is_ a Malfoy, and as such it was to be expected that he would one day reach out for your hand in guidance."

The Dark Lord turned from them without a further glance.

With confused thoughts straying in his mind, Severus took a step back to stand once more in the circle of Death Eaters. From the corner of his eye he saw Lucius' face hard and lost in thoughts, and once again the feeling that this man next to him was a grater threat than he had previously envisioned, awoke in him.

And with cruel certainty, Severus realized that Lucius was walking a path different to the Dark Lord's.

_What are you playing at, Malfoy? What do you seek?... _But most importantly, what did the blond expect to gain from getting Potter into his hands?

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Draco could barely contain his surprise at Salazar's words.

_Pettigrew is dead?!_

What had happened after he had left Harry alone?

Thought after thought erupted to life in his mind, they overlapped the previous one causing the rise of new and more confusing questions.

"Explain." Dumbledore's voice held a dangerous tone and when Draco looked at him, he saw only serious determination on the old wizard's face.

_Where are you leading us, Slytherin? What do you want?!_

Salazar bit his lip, his manner undoubtedly that of a scared youth, but Draco knew better, for this man before him was the Master of Deceive. The Great Trickster in person…

Fear gripped at the blond, fear not only for himself, but for what had been freed from his prison of the Chamber of Secrets after hundreds of years of containment.

Maybe it was the blood in him, perhaps his magic even, Draco mused, but he could suddenly see clearly in his mind what had transpired last night when Salazar started to speak.

Though the words themselves were lost to the blond, his inner eye provided him with enough clearance to the events that had transpired and had caused Harry's defeat by the hand of his own flesh and blood.

And with frightening insight, Draco realized something astonishing.

No matter the circumstances, no matter the words spoken by the dark wizard or even the man's own believes, no matter what history had taught Draco… there was an uncanny truth that the blond could not ignore.

Salazar Slytherin had not wanted to awake…

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**TBC**

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**A/N: **

This chapter's whole purpose was to show a little what everyone else, besides Harry, Draco, Salazar and Severus, are doing. Sort of like an interlude before I progress into the Harry/Salazar conflict and I can backtrack onto Godric and Rowena's history with Salazar.

I know there was a lot of PoV changes, but it was necessary. I thought it would display the parallel time frames better.

Also, befor I forget, if Blaise Zabini was actually a girl in the books, and I just completly forgot the fact, would you people be so kind at point me at the chapter in which (if) it's mentioned.

I hope your enjoying the story so far and as always: reviews are welcomed.


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